Adolph Gottlieb
The Red, 1972
Adolph Gottlieb was an American Abstract Expressionist painter born in 1903. Gottlieb studied at the Art Students League and lived in Paris for six months where he visited the Louvre everyday and sat in on classes at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere. In 1935, he was among the founding members of “The Ten”, a group of painters interested in expressionist and abstract works. Eight years later, he was again the founding member of a group called “The New York Artist Painters” which included Mark Rothko, who co-authored the first official statement of the Abstract Expressionists with him to the New York Times. Gottlieb’s labour within these groups foreshadowed his later work where he fought for artists’ rights, particularly against curators who did not favour the avant-garde.
Untitled, 1967
Untitled, 1969
Burst, 1973
Volcanic, 1971
Transfiguration #3, 1958
Black Plus White, 1960
“Gottlieb’s works carry an authenticity in his depiction of emotive experiences.”
Balance, 1960
Pink Smash, 1959
Gottlieb’s most celebrated work amongst his notable Burst Series was “Pink Smash” which was exhibited at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Museum of Modern Art’s traveling exhibition, and the Guggenheim. He was the first American artist to win the Grand Prize at the São Paulo Art Biennial. There is an intuitive and intrinsic expression that carries over through most of Gottlieb’s artworks and remains as his long-lasting contribution to the Abstract Expressionist painters.
Images courtesy of the Artist
Adolph Gottlieb
text PERWANA NAZIF
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