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JBRp77

Joan Brown

Portrait of a Chair, 1958

Oil on canvas

78 x 85 1/2 inches

JBRp 77

Roy De Forest

Roy De Forest
A Bird in Hand, 1965
Acrylic on canvas
72 x 60 inches
RDp 19

William T. Wiley

William T. Wiley
Grand Illusion, 1964
Oil on masonite
16 1/2 x 17 inches
WTWp 15
 

William T. Wiley

William T. Wiley
Horn Close Up, 1964
Mixed media construction
12 11/16 x 19 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches
WTWs 5
 

Joan Brown The Colonel in the Garden of Allah, 1972

Joan Brown
The Colonel in the Garden of Allah, 1972
Enamel on masonite
90 x 48 inches
JBRp 25

Joan Brown Man on Horseback, 1957

Joan Brown
Man on Horseback, 1957
Fabric, burlap, string, wire and wood
21 x 22 1 /2 x 12 inches
JBRs 09
 

Elmer Bischoff #3, 1948

Elmer Bischoff
#3, 1948
oil on canvas
47 x 31 inches
EBp 5

Peter Saul Girl #1, 1962

Peter Saul
Girl #1, 1962
oil on canvas
63 x 47 1/4 inches
PSp 106

Elmer Bischoff, Girl with Arms Raised, 1967

Elmer Bischoff

Girl with Arms Raised, 1967

Oil on canvas

80 x 37 1/2 inches

EBp 43

Joan Brown Portrait of a Chicken, 1967

Joan Brown
Portrait of a Chicken, 1967
oil on wood panel
16 x 15 inches
JBRp51

Peter Saul Lake Tahoe, c. 1966

Peter Saul
Lake Tahoe, c. 1966
colored pencil, marker, gouache on museum board
30 x 40 inches
PSd 134

Robert Arneson Self-Made Man, 1973

Robert Arneson
Self-Made Man, 1973
Ceramic
17 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 14 inches
RAs 255
 

Elmer Bischoff Reclining Nude, Partial Woman's Face, 1973

Elmer Bischoff
Reclining Nude, Partial Woman's Face, 1973
Wash, gouache, charcoal, collage on paper
17 1/2 x 21 inches
EBd 18
 

Joan Brown Models in Studio with Powerful Lights

Joan Brown
Models in Studio with Powerful Lights
1961
ink on illustration board
30 x 40 inches
JBRd 08

Elmer Bischoff Model and Artist, 1971

Elmer Bischoff
Model and Artist, 1971
Charcoal, ink wash, collage on paper
17 1/2 x 16 3/4 inches
EBd 17
 

Elmer Bischoff Untitled (Portrait), 1960

Elmer Bischoff
Untitled (Portrait), 1960
Gouache on paper
17 x 14 inches
EBd 42
 

Peter Saul Woman in Green Shirt, c.1957

Peter Saul
Woman in Green Shirt, c.1957
Chalk on velour paper
9 x 9 1/4 inches
PSd 155
 

Peter Saul Portrait of a Man, c.1957

Peter Saul
Portrait of a Man, c.1957
Chalk on velour paper
10 x 12 inches
PSd 159
 

Press Release

This summer, the George Adams Gallery will present “The Formative Years” a group exhibition featuring paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Arneson, Bischoff, Brown, De Forest, Saul, and Wiley.  The exhibition offers a rich and often surprising selection of works from the shared early years of these artists’ careers.

 

As a prologue, the show begins with two important 1948 abstractions by Bischoff, signaling the peak of the abstract movement in CA, which owed its development in part to the profound impact of the pedagogy of Hofmann, Still, Rothko, among others. Though by 1952 Bischoff would begin painting figuratively and go on to influence the next generation of painters himself, these earlier paintings illustrate many of the techniques and preoccupations that characterize his later work. Bischoff’s influence can be seen in the heavy, painterly style of Brown, a Picasso-inflected 'Vase' by Arneson, expressionistic prints by De Forest from the early 1950s, and generally, a maximalist approach to composition. Other highlights include a self-portrait by Arneson from 1973; a string and fabric sculpture and ink drawing of models in the studio by Brown; a late-sixties figurative painting by Bischoff; two pastel portraits from the late-fifties by Saul; and two paintings, one with a construction, from 1964 by Wiley.

 

The exhibition will be on view through August 12, when the gallery will close for the remainder of the month. Summer hours in June are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 – 5, and Tuesday – Friday, 10 – 5 in July and August, Monday and Saturday by appointment only. For images and further information, please visit the gallery website at www.georgeadamsgallery.com.

 

The Formative Years, 1957 – 1977

 

The group of artists who emerged from the San Francisco area in the 50s and 60s were united by more than regional proximity. The interconnectedness between education and later teaching positions within the local university programs, besides personal relationships, kept open lines of dialogue throughout their respective careers. Though not all of the same generation, it can be said that the six artists represented here came to maturity in response to - or rather in opposition to - the prevailing New York-centric art of the period. As encapsulated by first 'Contemporary Bay Area Figurative Painting' at Oakland Museum in 1957 and later the 'Funk' exhibition mounted by University of California, Berkeley Art Museum in 1967, the art being made in California became progressively more unique and transgressive, establishing an identity, perhaps, of individualism that would continue to define the region. This is not seen more clearly than by comparing the works of artists such as Brown, Wiley, De Forest, Arneson, etc, who, despite working closely with each other throughout their careers, would nevertheless develop radically different visual styles.


A prime example is the origin of their respective art as an evolution from the shared influences of their student days. Coming out of the tail end of a legacy of abstraction at the region's art schools and in the midst of the ascendency of new figurative painting and changing approaches to sculpture via clay, etc, (eg, Voulkos) in the Bay Area, the work they made in that period of transition shows the freedom with which they approached art-making. Here we see the assertions of personal preferences and most vividly, the parallels in style and approach: a laissez-faire attitude towards medium, a propensity for using found materials, an equal interest in the common-place as source material and an injection of personal experience and narrative - which remained a common thread for most the group throughout their careers - are clear. By the mid-70s, when all six would reach a level of maturity that defined their later work, the persistence of those early styles and influences remains visible.