John Kelly

From Germantown II (Plein Air Winter Landscape of Hudson River Mountains)

2024

Realistic, richly colorful oil painting of New York City edifice by Richard Britell oil on wood panel 10 x 8 inches Framed, hangs flush ...

Early Morning St. AM 1987 (Impressionist Figurative City Scene by William Clutz) Impressionist Painting of A Man Crossing a Street in Manhattan in the Early Morning Sunlight Colorful Painted by William Clutz in 1987 50" X 40" x 2", oil on canvas This figurative oil on canvas was painted in 1987 by William Clutz as part of a series of works called "Crossings". These paintings were a study of NYC dwellers engaging in the simple, daily activity of crossing the street. Clutz discovers the extraordinary in the ordinary, simply by studying how the sunlight bounces and reflects off the human form. In New York in the early 50's and 60's,, abstract expressionism was the orthodox approach to art at the time. However, Clutz was committed to his personal style that focused on abstracted human figures within urban tableaux. Working in a context of artists who challenged abstract expressionism's popularity in New York, Clutz established himself as a significant proponent of abstract figuration. His paintings focus on human figures within the urban environment, often exposing the transfiguration of his subjects as they travel through the complex light of city streets or summer parks, as shown in two of his early works. Clutz's interest in working from direct observation of urban life was influenced by a long-standing interest in German Expressionism, as well as artists like Henri Matisse, Arshile Gorky, and Nicholas De Stael...