Michigan - Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Artist Commentary: repetition, repetition, repetition Keywords: Handmade paper, abstract, hand cut, piercing, white Artist Biography: Meticulously piercing the paper, intricate sh...

On February 4th, 2021, Detroit lost one of its great artists, Charles McGee, at the age of 96. Charles McGee's charcoal "Woman Holding a Baby" is a small drawing of the future designs he has incorporated into his mammoth steel structures of dancing figures. This piece is entirely unique and allows us a glimpse into his creative process. His genius can be seen in sculpture installments throughout the city of Detroit. "Woman Holding a Baby" is signed lower right. This piece is dated to around the early 1960s, when McGee did his charcoal works. The artwork measures at 6.5 x 8.25 inches while the matte is 13.5 x 15.75 inches. This work has been framed with conservator material under acid-free museum glass. Charles McGee was born into a family of sharecroppers. While helping his grandfather tend the land, "he observed firsthand the order and harmony that exists within nature." He had no formal schooling until moving to Detroit at age 10, where he found that "everything was on the move and it hasn’t slowed down yet." in 2017 he observed, "I learned something not being in school — because life is school . . .I learn something every time I move. Every time I go around a corner, something new is revealed to me.” McGee took advantage of the GI Bill to attend classes at the Society of Arts and Crafts, now the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan. College for Creative Studies faculty and graduates include Richard Jerzy, Harry Bertoia, Doug Chaing (currently director of Lucas Film), Stephen Dinehart (game maker, writer, designer connected with The David Lynch Foundation), Tyree Guyton (international artist), Herb Babcock, Jerome Feretti, Kevin Siembieda (writer, designer and publisher of role-playing games), Renee Radell, Philip Pearlstein, Philip Pearlstein (2000 Honorary Doctorate, Modern Realism style), John Louis Krieger (American Modern) and William Girard (American Modern.) After retiring from the Corps of Engineers, McGee spent 1968 studying art in Barcelona. Despite not knowing the language at the outset, he immersed himself in the culture and opened himself to a whole new range of experience that would play out in his artwork. "If you free yourself, you have this kind of opportunity to have those experiences, horizons, and new vistas." (per interview with Nick Sousanis. He returned to Detroit and curated "Seven Black Artists" at the Detroit Artists Market in 1969, which along with McGee himself, included Lester Johnson, Henri Umbaji King, Robert Murray, James Lee, Allie McGhee...

Jean Tinguely was a Swiss sculptor best known for his kinetic art sculptural machines that extended the Dada tradition into the later part of the 20th century. Tinguely's art satiriz...

"Female Portrait" is abstracted with quick strong strokes of white and pale orange paint on black paper. This portrait can represent any woman who is a leader, filled with dignity an...

Phillip Hefferton (1933-2008) was an American pop artist from Detroit, Michigan who is best known for his paintings on banknotes. "Blue Flower in a V...

Phillip Hefferton (1933-2008) was an American pop artist from Detroit, Michigan who is best known for his paintings on banknotes. "Red Flower in a Va...

This study on paper by Friedel Dzubas is labeled 44 and is composed of large gestural brushstrokes of pastel in hues of orange, blue, greens, eggplant, gray and yellow. It is framed ...

Friedel Dzubas' gouache and acrylic on paper painting is from the artist's estate. Friedel Dzubas, (1915-1994)A noted figure in the New York School, Friedel Dzubas was associated wit...

'Phenomena Prior to Underpass' is an abstract watercolor on arches paper in intense colors primarily in red,blue and green by Post-War artist Paul Jenkins. Signed lower middle, "...