April Gornik

April Gornik (born 1953, Cleveland, Ohio) is an American artist who paints American landscapes.[1] Her realist yet dreamlike paintings and drawings embody oppositions and speak to America's historically conflicted relationship with nature.[2] While she doesn't categorize herself as an environmental artist, she is a passionate supporter of environmental causes and has said, "I have no problem with people reading an ecological message into my work."[3]

April Gornik
Born (1953-04-20) April 20, 1953
Cleveland, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNSCAD University
Known forPainting
Spouse(s)Eric Fischl
April Gornik Landscape on display at the Dayton Institute of Art in 2008.

Biography

Gornik received in 1976 her B.F.A. from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (now called NSCAD University), and while attending the school she met her future husband, painter Eric Fischl.[4]

Art dealer Ed Thorp hosted her first solo exhibition in 1981, after having caught sight of her paintings while viewing Fischl's work.[5] She is influenced by the feminist consciousness-raising of the late 20th century and, in speaking about female artists who have worked in the shadows of better known male artists, including Elaine de Kooning and Lee Krasner, she has said, "It's a problem. Women artists still receive lower prices for their art and remain less shown than their male counterparts."[5] Gornik now remains committed to helping her community and making a difference. Gornik and her husband invested in 30 acres of land in which they donated to the town to preserve land. She also adds her funds to the Southampton Animal Shelter[6] as well as being involved with the Eastville Historical Society.[7]

Collections

Various permanent art collections include Gornik's work, including: Smithsonian American Art Museum,[8] Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met),[9] the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA),[10] Hood Museum of Art,[11] Whitney Museum of American Art,[12] Nasher Museum of Art,[13] The Museum of Fine Arts[14], and many others.

Two of her paintings, Virga (1992) and Storm and Fires (1990) are held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection.[8] In 2007, the Smithsonian Art Collectors Program commissioned Gornik to produce a print to benefit the educational and cultural programs of the Smithsonian Associates. The lithograph, entitled Blue Moonlight hangs in the ongoing exhibition Graphic Eloquence in the S. Dillon Ripley Center in the National Mall, Washington, D.C.[15]

Awards

Gornik has received several awards: the Neuberger Museum of Art Annual Honoree (2004),[15] the 18th annual Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Honoree (2003) by the Guild Hall of East Hampton,[16] and the Award of Excellence for Artistic Contributions to the Fight Against AIDS from the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).[17]

Bibliography
  • Kuspit, Donald. April Gornik: Paintings and Drawings. San Francisco: Neuberger Museum and Hudson Hills Press, 2006. ISBN 1-55595-229-1[1]

References
  1. April Gornik: Paintings and Drawings, a book review
  2. Beckenstein, Joyce (Fall–Winter 2014). "April Gornik: Accidental Landscapes". Woman's Art Journal. 35 (2).
  3. Beckenstein, Joyce (Fall–Winter 2014). "April Gornik: Accidental Landscapes". Woman's Art Journal. 35 (2): 3.
  4. "Saving NSCAD: Why art education could save us, but first we must save it". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2018-04-04. In 1974 Eric Fischl began to teach painting at NSCAD, where he met his future wife, painter April Gornik
  5. Beckenstein, Joyce (Fall–Winter 2014). "April Gornik: Accidental Landscapes". Woman's Art Journal. 35 (2): 7.
  6. "Home". Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  7. "Eastville Historical Society | Sag Harbor | African American History". eastvillehistorical. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  8. "Virga". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  9. "April Gornik | Weight and Light". The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  10. "April Gornik. Loire. 1995". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  11. "Untitled (Desert Vista)". Hood Museum of Art. Dartmouth College. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  12. "Whitney Museum of American Art: April Gornik". collection.whitney.org. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  13. "Collection: April Gornik". Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  14. "Home | The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston". www.mfah.org. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  15. "April Gornik". artnet. Artnet Worldwide Corporation. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  16. "April Gornik | Biography". The Cohen Family Collection. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  17. April Gornik: October 17-November 15, 2008. New York: Danese. 2008. ISBN 9780979550164.
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