Richard Anuszkiewicz

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Richard Anuszkiewicz

Self Portrait, 1954: One of the last representational works Anuszkiewicz created
Born (1930-05-23) May 23, 1930
Erie, Pennsylvania
Nationality American
Field Painting
Training Cleveland Institute of Art
Movement Op Art

Richard Anuszkiewicz (pronounced Aah-Nuss-KAY-Vitch; born May 23, 1930, Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor.[1]

Life and work

Richard Anuszkiewicz trained at the Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio (1948–1953), and then with Josef Albers[2] at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture in New Haven, Connecticut (1953–1955) where he earned his Masters of Fine Arts.

He was one of the founders and foremost exponents of Op Art, a movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s.[3] Victor Vasarely in France and Bridget Riley in England were his primary international counterparts. In 1964, Life magazine called him "one of the new wizards of Op".[4] More recently, while reflecting on a New York City gallery show of Anuszkiewicz's from 2000, the New York Times art critic Holland Cotter described Anuszkiewicz's paintings by stating, "The drama -- and that feels like the right word -- is in the subtle chemistry of complementary colors, which makes the geometry glow as if light were leaking out from behind it." [3] Anuszkiewicz has exhibited at the Venice Biennale, Florence Biennale and Documenta, and his works are in permanent collections internationally. He was elected into the National Academy of Design in 1992 as an Associate member, and became a full member in 1994.

Style

Considered a major force in the Op Art movement, Anuszkiewicz is concerned with the optical changes that occur when different high-intensity colors are applied to the same geometric configurations. Most of his work comprises visual investigations of formal structural and color effects, many of them nested square forms similar to the work of his mentor Josef Albers. In his series, "Homage to the Square," Albers experimented with juxtapositions of color, and Anuszkiewicz developed these concepts further. Anuszkiewicz has continued to produce works in the Op Art style over the last few decades.

Anuszkiewicz summarizes his approach to painting as follows: "My work is of an experimental nature and has centered on an investigation into the effects of complementary colors of full intensity when juxtaposed and the optical changes that occur as a result, and a study of the dynamic effect of the whole under changing conditions of light, and the effect of light on color." (from a statement by the artist for the exhibition "Americans 1963" at the Museum of the Modern Art)

Selected Museums Holding Works

Deep Magenta Square, 1978: An example of Anuszkiewicz's use of colors, squares and lines

Grants and Awards

  • 1953: Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship
  • 1963: Charles of the Ritz Oil Painting Award
  • 1964: The Silvermine Guild Award for Oil Painting
  • 1977: Cleveland Arts Prize
  • 1980: Hassam Fund Purchase Award
  • 1988: Hassam Fund Purchase Award
  • 1994: New York State Art Teachers' Association Award
  • 1995: Emil and Dines Carlson Award
  • 1996: New Jersey Pride Award
  • 1997: Richard Florsheim Fund Grant
  • 2000: Lee Krasner Award
  • 2005: Lorenzo dei Medici Career Award, awarded at the Florence Biennale

Exhibitions

Anuskiewicz has exhibited in many public collections around the world, including notable New York galleries as Sidney Janis, The Contemporaries,[2] and Andrew Crispo Gallery.

Bibliography

  • Anuszkiewicz, Richard and Karl Lunde. "Anuszkiewicz." New York: H.N. Abrams (1977). ISBN 0-8109-0363-6
  • Alviani, Getulio, Margaret A. Miller and Giancarlo Pauletto. "Richard Anuszkiewicz: Opere 1961-1987." Pordenone: Centro Culturale Casa A. Zanussi (1988).
  • Buchsteiner, Thomas and Indgrid Mossinger. "Anuszkiewicz Op Art." Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Publishers (1997). ISBN 978-3-7757-0671-1
  • Kolva, Jeanne, Maxine Lurie (ed.) and Marc Mappen (ed.). Anuszkiewicz, Richard. "Encyclopedia of New Jersey." New Brunswick: Rutgers University (2004). 9780813533254
  • Madden, David and Nicholas Spike. "Richard Anuszkiewicz: Paintings & Sculptures 1945-2001: Catalogue Raisonné." Florence: Centro Di Edizioni (2010). ISBN 978-88-7038-483-3
  • Price, Marshall N. "The Abstract Impulse: fifty years of abstraction at the National Academy, 1956-2006." Manchester: Hudson Hills Press (2007). ISBN 978-1-887149-17-4
  • Ratliff, Floyd, Neil K. Rector and Sanford Wurmfeld. "Color Function Painting: The Art of Josef Albers, Julian Stanczak and Richard Anuszkiewicz." Winston-Salem: Wake Forest University Fine Arts Gallery (1996). ISBN 0-9720956-0-8

References

  1. Richard Anuszkiewicz Biography. Invaluable.com, retrieved February 20th, 2011
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Oral history interview with Richard Anuszkiewicz, 1971 Dec. 28 - 1972 Jan. 7". Oral history interviews. Archives of American Art. 2011. Retrieved 17 Jun 2011. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 New York Times. December 15, 2000. By Holland Cotter, p. E41.
  4. Life. December 11, 1964 "Op Art." p. 132.

External links

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