Irving Kriesberg

Irving Kriesberg

Kriesberg in his studio c. 1997
Born March 13, 1919(1919-03-13)
Chicago
Died November 11, 2009(2009-11-11) (aged 90)
New York City
Nationality American
Field American Figurative Expressionism

Irving Kriesberg (1919–2009) was an American painter whose work combined elements of Abstract Expressionism with figurative elements of human and animal forms.[1] Kriesberg made his debut with Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko at the 1952 exhibition, Fifteen Artists, at the New York Museum of Modern Art.[2]

Contents

Biography

Irving Kriesberg was born March 13, 1919 in Chicago, IL Kriesberg's interest in art began in Chicago. In 1941 he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago School, where he received his BFA. Shortly after graduation from the Art Institute of Chicago he traveled to Mexico City. From 1941 until 1944 he studied at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas, Mexico City.[3] He had interest also in cinematography.In 1972 he received his M.A. from New York University.,[4][5]

Irving Kriesberg held teaching positions in highly regarded academic institutions:

In 1945 Irving Kriesberg moved to New York City and had numerous solo and group exhibitions. His big break came when Dorothy Miller, curator of the Museum of Modern Art included Kriesberg in the landmark 1952 exhibition 15 AMERICANS[6] at MOMA. 15 AMERICANS exhibition included Jackson Pollock, William Baziotes, Clifford Still, Edward Corbett, Richard Lippold, Herbert Ferber, Mark Rothko, Bradley Walker Tomlin, as well as Edwin Dickinson and Frederick Keisler.

Film

Kriesberg was the featured subject in the documentary-short Tashilham, from filmmakers Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini. In the film, Kriesberg and his friend "the therapist" (anthropologist Judith Gleason) take "a fortunate journey"; the film documents their discussion and debate about a narrative series of 39 inter-related paintings by Kriesberg. He explains the motives and the meanings for the evocative and boldly colored paintings. The film was broadcast on Muse in 1997.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Retrospective:

Selected Group Exhibitions

Awards

Kriesberg has received two Ford Foundation grants, two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Awards, a National Endowment for the Arts Award, a Fulbright Fellowship, and the Guggenheim Foundation Memorial Award.

Museum collection

Irving Kriesberg's paintings are held in the permanent collection of over 74 American art museums including The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Corcoran Gallery, The Brooklyn Museum, The Detroit Museum of Art, The Kresge Art Museum, the National Museum of American Art, The Butler Institute of American Art, The Birmingham Museum of Art, The University of Michigan Museum of Art, The Dayton Art Institute, The Allentown Art Museum, The Boca Raton Museum of Art, The Rose Art Museum, The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, The Scottsdale MOCA, The Crocker Art Museum.

Irving Kriesberg died in New York City on November 11, 2009 at age 90.

References

  1. ^ ‘’ Irving Kriesberg, Artist of Dreamlike Landscapes, New York Times, 2009’’
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ American Abstract and Figurative Expressionism: Style Is Timely Art Is Timeless (New York School Press, 2009.) ISBN 978-0-9677994-2-1. p.151
  4. ^ Film-Making in the Art Curriculum (Art Journal, Winter, 1968-1969, vol. 28, no. 2, p. 175-176)
  5. ^ Animation as a Form of Expression: An Artist's Reflections on a Personal Mode of Film Making (Leonardo, Spring, 1974, vol. 7, no. 2, p. 105-110)
  6. ^ 15 Americans (New York, Museum of Modern Art, 1952.) p. 36-37

Books

External link for image reproduction

Together
Shari Robertson
  • Return to Year Zero (1987)
  • Angkor Wat Under Siege (1989)
  • Inside the Khmer Rouge (1990)
  • Wahington/Peru: We Ain't Winning (1992)
Michael Camerini
  • Dadi's Family (1981)
  • Born Again: Life in a Fundamentalist Baptist Church (1987)
  • The Frescoes of Diego Rivera (1987)
  • Kamala and Raji (1990)
  • Becoming the Buddha in L.A. (1993)