William Scharf More Prints

Red Angel, intensely and seductively colored: swooning purples and reds, ecstatic lemon yellows, and black construction paper. Jostling shapes, geometric and biomorphic, lyrical and ...

Red Angel, intensely and seductively colored: swooning purples and reds, ecstatic lemon yellows, and black construction paper. Jostling shapes, geometric and biomorphic, lyrical and hard-edged, refuse to resolve neatly Assemblage, a bold strategy to keep viewers unsettled and curious, the reward for which are profuse and luscious details: varied incidents of refinement, suggestive signs, most in a private code, not merely ornamental but integral to the overall message. William Scharf (born 1927, Media, PA) is an American artist from New York, he teaches at The Art Students League of New York. Painting with acrylics, he was a member of the New York School movement. Often categorized as a late generation Abstract Expressionist, Known for producing paintings with abstract compositions incorporating biomorphic and geometric forms in vivid colors, the artist was influenced by Surrealism, the Color Field painters, and symbolism. He apprenticed with Mark Rothko and was influenced by his color field paintings. The surrealist painter Arshile Gorky and the Abstract expressionism style found in 1950s New York City also influenced Scharf. His exhibits include San Francisco Art Institute (1969), the Pepperdine University's Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art (2001), and Richard York Gallery in New York City (2004). In the heyday of Abstract Expressionism, being serious meant following the tenets of the New York School, which required abstract paintings to be spontaneous improvisations, the messier the better. At once hedonistic and disciplined, his brazen paintings are nothing if not promiscuous. The best ones mix the dynamism of gestural abstraction with sensual rhythms of decorative patterning, sometimes souping up the stew with cartoonish symbols and flourishes so ripe they belong in a dandy's fantasies. His exhibits include San Francisco Art Institute (1969), the Pepperdine University's Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art (2001) and Richard York Gallery in New York City (2004). Scharf's work has been exhibited in a number of galleries, including the Anita Shapolsky Gallery, Meredith Ward Fine Art, and Hollis Taggart Galleries in New York City. Scharf has been an instructor of art at various institutions including The Art Students League, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the School of Visual Arts in New York. He is a member of the Society of Illustrators and the Artists Equity Association. EDUCATION 1944-49 The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts — Philadelphia, PA (1948 Cresson Scholar) 1949 The University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, PA 1948 The Academie de la Grand Chaumiere — Paris, France 1947 The Barnes Foundation — Merion, PA 1939-41 Samuel Fleisher Memorial School— Philadelphia, PA (also known as Graphic Sketch Club) TEACHING HISTORY Instructor: Painting & Drawing 1987-Present Art Students League, New York, NY 1989, 74, 69, 66, 63 San Francisco Institute of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA 1965-69 he School of Visual Arts, New York, NY 1964 Art Center of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY Guest Lecturer 1979 Pratt Institute, New York, NY 1974 Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 1974 California College of Arts and Crafts, San Francisco, CA Recent Solo Exhibitions: 2005 Meredith Ward Fine Art, New York, NY 2004 Richard York Gallery, New York, NY 2002 P.S.1/MOMA, Queens, NY 2001 The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Malibu, CA 2000-2001 The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC Selected Group Exhibitions: 2005 National Academy of Design, New York, NY 2005 Peter McPhee Fine Arts, Stone Harbor...

Red Angel, intensely and seductively colored: swooning purples and reds, ecstatic lemon yellows, and black construction paper. Jostling shapes, geometric and biomorphic, lyrical and hard-edged, refuse to resolve neatly Assemblage, a bold strategy to keep viewers unsettled and curious, the reward for which are profuse and luscious details: varied incidents of refinement, suggestive signs, most in a private code, not merely ornamental but integral to the overall message. William Scharf (born 1927, Media, PA) is an American artist from New York, he teaches at The Art Students League of New York. Painting with acrylics, he was a member of the New York School movement. Often categorized as a late generation Abstract Expressionist, Known for producing paintings with abstract compositions incorporating biomorphic and geometric forms in vivid colors, the artist was influenced by Surrealism, the Color Field painters, and symbolism. He apprenticed with Mark Rothko and was influenced by his color field paintings. The surrealist painter Arshile Gorky and the Abstract expressionism style found in 1950s New York City also influenced Scharf. His exhibits include San Francisco Art Institute (1969), the Pepperdine University's Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art (2001), and Richard York Gallery in New York City (2004). In the heyday of Abstract Expressionism, being serious meant following the tenets of the New York School, which required abstract paintings to be spontaneous improvisations, the messier the better. At once hedonistic and disciplined, his brazen paintings are nothing if not promiscuous. The best ones mix the dynamism of gestural abstraction with sensual rhythms of decorative patterning, sometimes souping up the stew with cartoonish symbols and flourishes so ripe they belong in a dandy's fantasies. His exhibits include San Francisco Art Institute (1969), the Pepperdine University's Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art (2001) and Richard York Gallery in New York City (2004). Scharf's work has been exhibited in a number of galleries, including the Anita Shapolsky Gallery, Meredith Ward Fine Art, and Hollis Taggart Galleries in New York City. Scharf has been an instructor of art at various institutions including The Art Students League, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the School of Visual Arts in New York. He is a member of the Society of Illustrators and the Artists Equity Association. EDUCATION 1944-49 The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts — Philadelphia, PA (1948 Cresson Scholar) 1949 The University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, PA 1948 The Academie de la Grand Chaumiere — Paris, France 1947 The Barnes Foundation — Merion, PA 1939-41 Samuel Fleisher Memorial School— Philadelphia, PA (also known as Graphic Sketch Club) TEACHING HISTORY Instructor: Painting & Drawing 1987-Present Art Students League, New York, NY 1989, 74, 69, 66, 63 San Francisco Institute of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA 1965-69 he School of Visual Arts, New York, NY 1964 Art Center of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY Guest Lecturer 1979 Pratt Institute, New York, NY 1974 Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 1974 California College of Arts and Crafts, San Francisco, CA Recent Solo Exhibitions: 2005 Meredith Ward Fine Art, New York, NY 2004 Richard York Gallery, New York, NY 2002 P.S.1/MOMA, Queens, NY 2001 The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Malibu, CA 2000-2001 The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC Selected Group Exhibitions: 2005 National Academy of Design, New York, NY 2005 Peter McPhee Fine Arts, Stone Harbor...