Michael Rosenfeld Gallery is pleased to present its eighth solo exhibition of work by Charles Seliger (American, b.1926) consisting of 16 new dynamic paintings which continue to disclose the artist’s exploration of the infinite spaces within and beyond the natural world. On view from March 17 to May 13, 2006, this new body of paintings shows a continuation of Seliger’s persistent interest in the unknown formulas of nature as seen in his work of the 1940s, when he began to discern an individual voice in the Abstract Expressionism movement. A portion of this new body of work reverts to the larger scale format characteristic of his work from the 1970s. A new color pencil and wax technique used in some of these works provides an intense color palette which allowed for the artist’s “intuitive process to celebrate its sense of awe in breaking down that which is already learned”. A fully-illustrated exhibition catalogue will include an introduction by artist James Siena and an essay by Isabelle Dervaux, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Drawings, The Pierpont Morgan Library.
James Siena in his introduction writes:
Charles’ work booms. It rumbles, roars and rustles. It is turbulent, actively unstable, and yet completely resolved and joyous. It is also securely situated for those patient enough to see it, in the tradition of the hard working artist.
Throughout his career, Seliger has actively exhibited in the United States and abroad. In 1945 at the age of nineteen, Seliger had his first of two solo exhibitions at Peggy Guggenheim's gallery Art of This Century. His first major museum exhibition was in 1949 at the De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, California and in 1986, he was given his first retrospective exhibition at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. His work is represented in numerous museum collections including The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York, National Museum of American Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His complete set of personal journals was recently acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City.
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC is the exclusive representative of Charles Seliger.
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