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Irving Kriesberg, Departure, 1994, oil on canvas, 66 x 59 in. (167.6 x 149.9 cm). Collection of the Estate of Irving Kriesberg.
Max Beckmann was born on this day in 1884. Beckmann's style of figurative art that blends the spiritual and profane through a unique painterly lens and makes allegorical commentary on contemporary life, had a profound impact on Kriesberg's own art making.
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Fox, Margalit. "Irving Kriesberg, 90, Artist of Dreamlike Landscapes." New York Times (New York, New York), November 18, 2009, p. A28.
Ten years ago today, Irving Kriesberg passed away at the age of 90. In his New York Times obituary (published on Nov. 18, 2009), Margalit Fox writes: “Where hard-line Abstract Expressionists shunned figural elements in their work, Mr. Kriesberg used them lavishly. As a result, he was often called a Figurative Expressionist; the term applied to midcentury Expressionists whose work was not strictly abstract.
But as often as not, Mr. Kriesberg’s work transcended category. Though it teemed with figures — frogs, birds, people, angels and much else — it was anything but representational. Normally small creatures tower and loom, dancers weave through space at unorthodox angles, and customarily static objects appear fluid and sinuous. All these things gave his work a sense of wit and mystery.”
Read the full New York Times obituary here.
Irving Kriesberg, Ezekiel, 1971 installation view at Beth Emet Synagogue, Evanston, Illinois.
43 years ago on the evening of Shabbat, September 17th, 1976, Irving Kriesberg’s seven panel mural titled Ezekiel (1971) was presented to the Beth Emet Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois. The large painting references the Biblical passage #Ezekiel: 37, The Valley of Dry Bones. The context of this passage and how it relates to the content and symbols in Kriesberg’s painting was published in Beth Emet’s Bulletin, which is featured in this post from the archives.
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Irving Kriesberg, Ascension, 1997, oil on canvas, 64 x 65 in. (162.6 x 165.1 cm) Gift of an anonymous donor; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri (2005.22.01)
Irving Kriesberg’s Ascension (1997) is included in the current exhibition: Weird & Eerie: Selections of Extraordinary Character at the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art.
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Irving Kriesberg, Prometheus, 1978, oil on canvas, 58 x 44 in. Collection of University Art Museum, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York
The feminist author, Jane Alpert, was inspired and awestruck seeing the painting Prometheus (1978) by Kriesberg and wrote a poem in response to it. The typewritten poem is titled “On A Painting by Irving Kriesberg” (1978). This post analyzes the painting and features Alpert’s original typewritten poem, which is in the archives of the Irving Kriesberg Estate.
Read moreDuring the 1940s, there was a creative zeitgeist between two proponents of Expressionist painting, Irving Kriesberg and Jackson Pollock. Pollock's circular painting, aptly titled Circle (c. 1938-41), and Kriesberg's series of 'wheel' paintings (c. 1946-1948) share specific affinities that speak to each artist's interests connecting Expressionism with non-European modes of art.
Read moreIrving Kriesberg, “Blue Stockings,” 1975, Oil on canvas, 53 5/8 x 67 1/4 in. (136.2 x 170.8 cm) Collection of the Estate of Irving Kriesberg, New York
Painted in 1975, this work features “one of the most insistent of Kriesberg’s images: a striding creature, an anthropomorphized animal or an animalesque man,” wrote historian Dore Ashton on the occasion of Kriesberg’s solo exhibition at Terry Dintenfass Gallery in 1978.
Read moreIrving Kriesberg, India, O My Beloved!, 1992, Oil and pastel on canvas, 66 1/4 x 84 3/8 in. (168.3 x 214.3 cm) Collection of the Estate of Irving Kriesberg, New York
New Essay: On the occasion of the centennial of the birth of Irving Kriesberg, the Estate of Irving Kriesberg is pleased to present East Looking West: Revisiting and repositioning the work of Irving Kriesberg a new essay by Tuong Linh Do. The text focuses on the Eastern Buddhist and Hindu influences that are present within Kriesberg’s art.
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Exhibition News: The Estate of Irving Kriesberg in collaboration with Vin Gallery (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) announces a special presentation of works by American artist Irving Kriesberg (1919-2009) on the occasion of the centennial of his birth. The unique selection will be presented at the Seattle Art Fair and includes works that have never been publicly available.
Read moreFrom the Archive: On this centennial year of the birth of Irving Kriesberg, the estate looks into its archive offering up a important texts and moments in the life and art of the artist. Here is a critical essay by Allan Kaprow on nature in the art of Kriesberg.
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