William N. Copley
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Installation view of Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2018
Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987)
February 22 - April 7, 2018
Opening: Thursday, February 22nd, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Venus Over Manhattan
980 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10075
(New York, NY) – Venus Over Manhattan is pleased to present Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987), an exhibition of work dedicated to the history, programming, and legacy of Allan Frumkin’s eponymous galleries in both Chicago and New York. The show, comprised of more than fifty works in diverse media by nineteen artists, will be on view from February 22 through April 7, 2018. Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987) marks Venus Over Manhattan’s third major presentation of work championed by Allan Frumkin, following the critically acclaimed exhibitions Peter Saul: From Pop to Punk, in 2015, and H.C. Westermann: See America First, also in 2015.
Allan Frumkin (1927-2002) opened his first gallery in 1952 in Chicago, where he was responsible for giving artists like Joseph Cornell, Matta, and Alberto Burri their first exhibitions in the city, and exhibited works by members of the European and American avant-gardes. As Frumkin introduced Surrealism, German Expressionism, and painters of the New York School to the Midwest, he also developed a program that championed younger artists from Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, and New York. Though he continued to mount exhibitions of American and European Masters until he retired in 1995, Frumkin staked his name to three then-nascent artistic movements from the United States, and his gallery became the leading venue for popularizing work associated with the San Francisco Funk movement, the Chicago Imagists, and a particular brand of New York Realism.
In 1959, Frumkin opened a second gallery in New York, located on 57th Street, where he mounted early and important solo exhibitions of artists including Robert Arneson, Joan Brown, Roy De Forest, Peter Saul, H.C. Westermann, William T. Wiley, Robert Hudson, Maryan, Willard Midgette, and Philip Pearlstein. Frumkin’s taste ran decidedly counter to the prevailing styles of the day, and during the years when painting was declared “dead,” and exhibitions like “Primary Structures” at the Jewish Museum were setting the tone for artistic production in America, Frumkin instead presented exhibitions of observational realist portraits by Philip Pearlstein, humorously cutting ceramics by Robert Arneson, and ecstatically colored and politically incorrect paintings by Peter Saul. Never one to shy away from difficult, offensive, or visually complex work, Frumkin and his galleries existed as a beacon for a group of artists who defied established tastes, many of whom are only now achieving the renown that Frumkin had hoped for them.
On view in the gallery is an expansive selection of over fifty works in nearly all media by nineteen artists, each of whom Frumkin championed in his galleries in Chicago or New York. Assembled almost exclusively from the Estate of Allan Frumkin, the exhibition represents the wide range of styles, mediums, and approaches that Frumkin promoted, as well as the depth Frumkin pursued in the careers of the artists he represented. Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987) also functions as a portrait of the maverick gallerist himself, not only through the work he exhibited, but also through the work he collected. As Roberta Smith noted in her obituary for him in The New York Times, Frumkin was, “like many dealers…also a collector.” Indeed, his own collection included many of the most important works made by the artists he represented. Throughout the years that Frumkin worked with his stable of artists, he would often pick works from their studios to add to his collection, often times before even giving the piece an opportunity to be shown in a public exhibition. But regardless of exhibition histories, Frumkin’s efficient collecting style allowed him to assemble many masterworks by the artists he represented, and in this way, Frumkin is often remembered as an even better collector than he was a salesman.
Mr. Unatural and Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952-1987) is loosely organized to reflect the three main groups of artists that Frumkin championed: Funk artists from the San Francisco Bay Area, Realist painters from New York, and artists associated with the development of the Imagist movement in Chicago. The largest group of works on view represents a group of artists based in California, including Robert Arneson, Joan Brown, William T. Wiley, and Roy De Forest, all of whom taught or were associated with the art department at the University of California, Davis. A group of their students, including Richard Shaw, David Gilhooly, and Richard Notkin are also represented, alongside a large selection of work by Peter Saul, who was born in San Francisco, lived for many years in the Bay Area, and many of whose works depict San Francisco. These works are shown in close proximity to a large selection of paintings, sculptures, and works on canvas that were produced or shown in Chicago, in order to suggest the way in which Frumkin’s Chicago gallery, where he exhibited work by San Francisco Bay Area artists, as well as the work of H.C. Westermann, came to influence a whole generation of artists in Chicago, including Jim Nutt, who famously worked as an art handler in the Chicago Gallery. The third group is comprised of paintings and works on paper by Philip Pearlstein, Jack Beal, and Willard Midgette, who represent the group of Realist painters from New York that Frumkin supported. Within this loose structure, a group of important works by artists who belonged to none of these groups, but who asserted their importance within the Frumkin program, including William N. Copley, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Maryan, and Philip Guston. This organizational strategy suggests the scope of Frumkin’s program, and in many cases, exposes the meaningful dialogues and interactions between the gallery’s various constituencies.
For further information about the exhibition and availability, please contact the gallery at info@venusovermanhattan.com
For all press inquiries related to the exhibition, please email press@venusovermanhattan.com
Various Artists
Twenty Five Years Among the Art Wars, 1978
color pencil and ink on paper
22 x 30 in
55.9 x 76.2
Robert Arneson
Self-Portrait as Santa Claus, 1975
painted ceramic
25 x 13 x 5 in
63.5 x 33 x 12.7 cm
Robert Arneson
Mr. Unatural, 1978
painted and glazed ceramic
94 x 24 x 22 in
238.8 x 61 x 55.9 cm
Luis Cruz Azaceta
Tree of Lights, 1980
acrylic on canvas
66 x 66 in
167.6 x 167.6 cm
Jack Beal
Still Life with Pitcher and Patchwork, n.d.
oil on canvas
14 x 14 in
35.6 x 35.6 cm
Joan Brown
The Swimmers #2 (The Crawl), 1974
enamel on canvas
73 x 85 in
185.4 x 215.9 cm
Joan Brown
Homage to Akhenaton, 1983
enamel on canvas
72 x 120 in
182.9 x 304.8 cm
William N. Copley
St Valentines Day, 1965
acrylic on canvas
35 x 46 in
88.9 x 116.8 cm
Roy De Forest
In Arcadia Equus, 1977
colored pencil on paper framed with collage elements
36 x 26 1/4 x 10 in
91.4 x 66.7 x 25.4 cm
Roy De Forest
Untitled, 1977
pastel and graphite on paper
20 x 26 in
50.8 x 66 cm
Roy De Forest
Untitled, 1978
pastel on paper
22 1/2 x 30 in
57.2 x 76.2 cm
Roy De Forest
Untitled, 1978
pastel on paper
22 1/2 x 30 in
57.2 x 76.2 cm
Roy De Forest
Untitled, 1980
pastel and graphite on paper
22 1/2 x 30 1/4 in
57.2 x 76.8 cm
Roy De Forest
Drawing, 1990
mixed media on paper with artist designed frame
41 3/4 x 51 1/2 x 2 1/2 in
106 x 130.8 x 6.4 cm
David Gilhooly
Frog Submarine Sandwich, 1975
glazed and painted ceramic
5 x 16 1/2 x 5 in
12.7 x 41.9 x 12.7 cm
Philip Guston
Recent Paintings at Allan Frumkin, 1978
ink on paper
25 x 18 7/8 in
63.5 x 47.9 cm
Robert Hudson
Untitled, 1980
oil and collage on paper
42 x 32 in
106.7 x 81.3 cm
Robert Hudson
Gaze, 1985-1986
unique polychrome bronze
31 1/8 x 18 3/4 x 16 in
79.1 x 47.6 x 40.6 cm
Maryan
After Goya, 1966
oil on canvas
50 x 50 in
127 x 127 cm
Maryan
Dog on Red Background, 1967
oil on canvas
31 x 36 in
78.7 x 91.4 cm
Maryan
Personnage (Soldat), 1974
oil on canvas
40 x 30 in
101.6 x 76.2 cm
Willard Midgette
AF Showing Doorway with Model, 1971
oil on canvas
84 x 48 in
213.4 x 121.9 cm
Richard T. Notkin
Urban Crisis, 1973
painted ceramic, wood, glass
12 x 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 in
30.5 x 24.1 x 24.1 cm
Richard T. Notkin
To Allan, 1978
painted ceramic
7 1/2 x 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 in
19.1 x 13.3 x 13.3 cm
Jim Nutt
Are you sure you want this?, 1975
graphite on paper
19 x 17 in
48.3 x 43.2 cm
Philip Pearlstein
Lying Female Nude on Purple Drape, 1968
oil on canvas
40 x 48 in
101.6 x 121.9 cm
Philip Pearlstein
Female Model Leaning on Mantel, 1974
oil on canvas
48 x 40 in
121.9 x 101.6 cm
Philip Pearlstein
Model in Plum-Colored Kimono Seated on an Iron Bench, 1978
watercolor on paper
29 x 41 1/2 in
73.7 x 105.4 cm
Peter Saul
(OT), 1961
pastel and collage on paper
19 1/2 x 22 in
49.5 x 55.9 cm
Peter Saul
Super Girl in Danger, 1962
oil on canvas
47 x 55 in
119.4 x 139.7 cm
Peter Saul
Golden Gate, 1966
oil, acrylic, marker, pen on canvas
49 x 70 in
124.5 x 177.8 cm
Peter Saul
Charm of Frisco, 1969
mixed media on paper
40 x 48 in
101.6 x 121.9 cm
Peter Saul
World of America No. 1, 1967
lithograph on wove paper mounted on board
28 3/4 x 22 3/4 in
73 x 57.8 cm
edition of 30
Peter Saul
World of America No. 2, 1967
lithograph on wove paper
24 x 18 in
61 x 45.7 cm
edition of 25
Peter Saul
Golden Gate Bridge, 1968
lithograph on paper
22 1/4 x 29 3/4 in
56.5 x 75.6 cm
edition of 50
Peter Saul
Hoomin Consurn Personal Torment, 1969
lithograph on paper
21 x 22 in
53.3 x 55.9 cm
edition of 50
Peter Saul
Shicago Justus, 1971
lithograph on wove paper
18 x 24 in
45.7 x 61 cm
edition of 150
Peter Saul
Angela Davis, 1972
lithograph on paper
35 x 30 in
88.9 x 76.2 cm
edition of 100
Peter Saul
Amboosh, 1975
lithograph on paper
30 x 40 in
76.2 x 101.6 cm
edition of 50
Richard Shaw
Book Figure, 1980
painted ceramic
17 x 10 1/4 x 7 1/4 in
43.2 x 26 x 18.4 cm
H.C. Westermann
Pillar of Truth, 1962
red oak, pine, walnut, enamel, cast aluminum, metal spring
24 5/8 x 7 1/2 x 8 in
62.5 x 19.1 x 20.3 cm
H.C. Westermann
Difu, 1980
pine, “difu” wood, leather
12 5/8 x 12 7/8 x 10 in
32.1 x 32.7 x 25.4 cm
H.C. Westermann
Champion of Justice, c. 1959
ink and watercolor on paper
13 1/2 x 10 3/4 in
34.3 x 26 cm
H.C. Westermann
The Smoker, c. 1959
Ink and watercolor on paper
13 1/2 x 10 3/4 in
34.3 x 26 cm
H.C. Westermann
U.S.A., 1964
ink on paper
13 7/8 x 16 3/4 in
35.2 x 42.5 cm
H.C. Westermann
35 Air Races Always To “Mac” First, 1968
ink and watercolor on paper
13 1/2 x 10 1/4 in
34.3 x 26 cm
H.C. Westermann
No Kid Should Be Without One, n.d.
ink and watercolor on paper
13 1/2 x 10 3/4 in
34.3 x 26 cm
H.C. Westermann
Death Ship of No Port, 1967
three color lithograph on arches wove paper, deckled edges
18 x 24 in
45.7 x 61 cm
edition of 50 + 3 APs
H.C. Westermann
Green Planet, 1967
four color lithograph on arches wove paper, deckled edges
24 x 18 in
61 x 45.7 cm
edition of 15
H.C. Westermann
Red Planet “J,” 1967
three color lithograph on arches wove paper, deckled edges
30 x 22 1/2 in
76.2 x 57.2 cm
edition of 50 + 2 APs
H.C. Westermann
Six Lithographs – Portfolio, 1972
brown wove paper commercial document portfolio with fabric ribbon ties, with screen printed portfolio title, date, and artist’s name
25 1/2 x 37 in
64.8 x 94 cm
edition of 60 + 10 APs
H.C. Westermann
Six Lithographs – Death Ship in Port, 1972
nine color lithograph on BFK Rives wove paper, torn and deckled edges
25 x 33 in
63.5 x 83.8 cm
edition of 60 + 10 APs
H.C. Westermann
Six Lithographs – Green River, 1972
nine color lithograph on BFK Rives wove paper, torn and deckled edges
25 x 33 in
63.5 x 83.8 cm
edition of 60 + 10 APs
H.C. Westermann
Six Lithographs – The Lost Planet, 1972
nine color lithograph on BFK Rives wove paper, torn and deckled edges
25 x 33 in
63.5 x 83.8 cm
edition of 60 + 10 APs
H.C. Westermann
Six Lithographs – “J” Print, 1972
nine color lithograph on BFK Rives wove paper, torn and deckled edges
25 x 33 in
63.5 x 83.8 cm
edition of 60 + 10 APs
H.C. Westermann
Six Lithographs – An Affair in the Islands, 1972
nine color lithograph on BFK Rives wove paper, torn and deckled edges
25 x 33 in
63.5 x 83.8 cm
edition of 60 + 10 APs
H.C. Westermann
Six Lithographs – Holiday Inn, 1972
nine color lithograph on BFK Rives wove paper, torn and deckled edges
25 x 33 in
63.5 x 83.8 cm
edition of 60 + 10 APs
William T. Wiley
Brush Exploding In Space, 1967
ink and watercolor on paper
19 1/2 x 21 1/2 in
49.5 x 54.6 cm
William T. Wiley
Hard Rock Painter, 1967
ink with color on paper
24 x 18 in
61 x 45.7 cm
William T. Wiley
Long Conversation, 1967
ink with color on paper
23 1/2 x 17 3/4 in
59.7 x 45.1 cm
William T. Wiley
Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks, 1967
ink with color on paper
24 x 18 in
61 x 45.7 cm
William T. Wiley
Slab’s Axe in Change, 1967
ink with color on paper
24 x 18 in
61 x 45.7 cm
William T. Wiley
All the Wonderful Flags are Down, 1968
watercolor on paper
18 x 24 in
45.7 x 61 cm
William T. Wiley
Study for Swarm and Boo, 1970
ink on paper
22 x 15 in
55.9 x 38.1 cm
William T. Wiley
Looking Charming for Mr. Unatural, 1975
graphite and colored pencil on paper
36 x 24 1/2 in
91.4 x 62.2 cm
Robert Arneson, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Jack Beal, Joan Brown, William N. Copley, Roy De Forest, David Gilhooly, Red Grooms, Philip Guston, Robert Hudson, Maryan, Willard Midgette, Richard T. Notkin, Jim Nutt, Philip Pearlstein, Peter Saul, Richard Shaw, H.C. Westermann, William T. Wiley
