Irving Kriesberg

Irving Kriesberg (March 13, 1919 – November 11, 2009) was an American painter, sculptor, and filmmaker, whose work combined elements of Abstract Expressionism with figurative elements of human and animal forms.[1] Kriesberg exhibited with Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko in the breakout 1952 exhibition, 15 Americans, at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).[2]

Irving Kriesberg
Kriesberg in his studio c. 1997
Born(1919-03-13)March 13, 1919
Chicago
DiedNovember 11, 2009(2009-11-11) (aged 90)
New York City
NationalityAmerican
Known forAmerican Figurative Expressionism

Biography and Education

Irving Kriesberg was born March 13, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois. As a child, Kriesberg filled sketchbooks with images of animals inspired by visits to Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History.[3] Kriesberg studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he received his BFA in 1941. Shortly after graduation from the Art Institute of Chicago he traveled to Mexico City, where he lived and worked from 1941 until 1944. He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas, Mexico City and exhibited with Taller de Gráfica Popular.[4] In 1945, Kriesberg moved to New York City. His big entry into the New York art scene came when Dorothy Miller, curator of the Museum of Modern Art, included his paintings in the landmark 1952 exhibition, 15 Americans[5] at MoMA.15 Americans also included Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko, Williams Baziotes, and other seminal American modern artists.[6] In addition to painting and sculpture, Kriesberg was also interested in cinematography. He created two avant-garde animations Pastoral (1954, 20 minutes, 16mm film with musical score by Douglas Townsend) and Out of Into (1972, 17 min, 16 mm film with an electric score by Bülent Arel). He received his M.A. in film from New York University in 1972.[7][8]

Kriesberg held teaching positions in highly regarded academic institutions including:

Selected solo exhibitions
Kriesberg canvas featured in Tashilham
  • 1946 The Art Institute of Chicago (First public exhibition; 2 person show)
  • 1954: St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO; The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI;
  • 1955: Curt Valentin Gallery, NYC;
  • 1962: Graham Gallery, NYC;
  • 1966: Kumar Gallery, Delhi, India;
  • 1967: Yale University, New Haven, CT;
  • 1978, 80, 82: Terry Dintenfass, Inc., NYC;
  • 1979: Fairweather–Hardin Gallery, Chicago, IL;
  • 1980, 81: Brandeis University, Waltham, MA;
  • 1980: Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; Galerie Elizabeth, Chicago, IL;
  • 1981: Fiedler Gallery, Washington, D.C.;
  • 1981, 83: Jack Gallery, NYC;
  • 1982: Washington University, St. Louis, MO; Zenith Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA;
  • 1985, 87: Graham Modern Gallery, NYC;
  • 1990: Scheele Gallery, Cleveland, OH;
  • 1992, 94: Katherina Rich Perlow Gallery, NYC;
  • 1996, 2005: Peter Findlay Gallery, NYC;
  • 2005, 08: Lori Bookstein Fine Art, NYC.

Retrospective:

Selected group exhibitions
  • 1946: The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois;
  • 1952: “New Talent”, Museum of Modern Art, New York City; “15 Americans”, circ., Museum of Modern Art, New York City;
  • 1953: The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI;
  • 1953: Curt Valentin Gallery, New York City;
  • 1954: St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO;
  • 1968: Directions I: Options, Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, WI;
  • 1969: Human Concern/Personal Torment, (Curated by Robert Doty) The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY;
  • 1972: Ten Independents, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City;
  • 1979: Artists 100 Years: Alumni of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, (Curated by Katharine Kuh ) Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL;
  • 1982: Peaceable Kingdom: Animal Art from the Permanent Collection, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC;
  • 1984: Emotional Impact: New York School Figurative Expressionism (curated by April Kingsley) Traveled to: Anchorage Historical and Fine Arts Museum, Anchorage, AK, December 1, 1984–January 12, 1985; Museum of Art, Inc., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, February 1–April 1, 1985; University Gallery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, September 1–September 29, 1985; Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK, January 19–March 2, 1986; Beaumont Art Center, Beaumont, TX, March 28–May 11, 1986; Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, TX, May 23–July 6, 1986;
  • 1987: The Interior Self: Three Generations of Expressionist Painters View the Human Image, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, N.J.
  • 2016: Curators at Work VI, Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg, VA.[9]

Awards

Kriesberg received two Ford Foundation grants, two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Awards, a National Endowment for the Arts Award, a Fulbright Fellowship, and the Guggenheim Foundation Memorial Award. In 1992 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1994.

Museum collections

Kriesberg's paintings are held in the permanent collection of over 74 American art museums including The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Corcoran Gallery, The Brooklyn Museum, The Detroit Museum of Art, The Kresge Art Museum, The National Gallery, The Butler Institute of American Art, The Birmingham Museum of Art, The Jewish Museum, The University of Michigan Museum of Art, The Dayton Art Institute, The Allentown Art Museum, The Boca Raton Museum of Art, The Rose Art Museum, The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, The Scottsdale MoCA, and The Crocker Art Museum.

Kriesberg died in New York City on November 11, 2009, at age 90.

References
  1. ‘’ Irving Kriesberg, Artist of Dreamlike Landscapes, New York Times, 2009’’
  3. Zucker, Adam. "A Painter's Life." In Irving Kriesberg: Animal Narratives. Longview, Texas: Estate of Irving Kriesberg, 2012, pp. 2–5.
  4. American Abstract and Figurative Expressionism: Style Is Timely Art Is Timeless (New York School Press, 2009.) ISBN 978-0-9677994-2-1. p.151
  5. 15 Americans (New York, Museum of Modern Art, 1952.) p. 36-37
  6. "15 Americans online exhibition archive". MoMA.
  7. Film-Making in the Art Curriculum (Art Journal, Winter, 1968-1969, vol. 28, no. 2, p. 175-176)
  8. Animation as a Form of Expression: An Artist's Reflections on a Personal Mode of Film Making (Leonardo, Spring, 1974, vol. 7, no. 2, p. 105-110)
  9. "End of a Dream, (oil on canvas)". Curators at Work VI. Muscarelle Museum of Art. 2016. Retrieved 20 Jun 2018.

Books
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