Orange and Dark Shadow
Artist
Boyer Gonzales
MediumOil on hardboard
Dimensions22 x 26 x 1 3/4 in. (55.9 x 66 x 4.4 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineSeattle City Light 1% for Art Portable Works Collection
Like objects emerging from a fog, this painting suggests landscape or architecture while remaining emotionally abstract. The painting however provides us with elements we expect in a traditional, representative piece such as indications of foreground, background, color, shadow and light. Gonzales wrote in 1983, …my work stems from visual experiences, but it is not representational in the traditional sense. As a student at Woodstock, New York, Boyer Gonzales was introduced to abstract landscape painting through the work of Paul Cezanne, who became a major influence in his work.
Like objects emerging from a fog, the forms in this painting suggest landscape or architecture while at the same time confounding the viewer's ability to completely resolve what, if anything is actually portrayed. The painter provides us with many of the things one expects to get in a traditional, representative picture. There are indications of foreground, background, shapes, color, shadow and light. But this is not, apparently, a painting of a place. It is a painting about the act of painting.
Professor Gonzales was born on February 11, 1909, in Galveston, Texas. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia in 1931. He later studied painting for four years in Woodstock, an artist colony in New York. Henry Lee McFee, his most influential teacher at Woodstock, introduced him to the abstract landscape painting developed by Paul Cézanne, who became the major influence in his work.
In 1935 he participated in the Fourteenth Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Oil Paintings at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. In 1936 his work was exhibited at the Rockefeller Center, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Texas Centennial Exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art. In 1937 Professor Gonzales and Henry Lee McFee founded the Museum School of Art at the Witte Memorial Museum in San Antonio. That year he also participated in his first solo exhibitions, at the Witte Memorial Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. During his long career, he participated in more than 40 group exhibitions and thirteen solo exhibitions.
Professor Gonzales joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 1939. After serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he returned to the University, where he chaired the Department of Art from 1946 to 1948. He resigned from UT Austin in 1954 to accept a position as director of the School of Art at the University of Washington.
Like objects emerging from a fog, the forms in this painting suggest landscape or architecture while at the same time confounding the viewer's ability to completely resolve what, if anything is actually portrayed. The painter provides us with many of the things one expects to get in a traditional, representative picture. There are indications of foreground, background, shapes, color, shadow and light. But this is not, apparently, a painting of a place. It is a painting about the act of painting.
Professor Gonzales was born on February 11, 1909, in Galveston, Texas. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia in 1931. He later studied painting for four years in Woodstock, an artist colony in New York. Henry Lee McFee, his most influential teacher at Woodstock, introduced him to the abstract landscape painting developed by Paul Cézanne, who became the major influence in his work.
In 1935 he participated in the Fourteenth Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Oil Paintings at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. In 1936 his work was exhibited at the Rockefeller Center, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Texas Centennial Exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art. In 1937 Professor Gonzales and Henry Lee McFee founded the Museum School of Art at the Witte Memorial Museum in San Antonio. That year he also participated in his first solo exhibitions, at the Witte Memorial Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. During his long career, he participated in more than 40 group exhibitions and thirteen solo exhibitions.
Professor Gonzales joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 1939. After serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he returned to the University, where he chaired the Department of Art from 1946 to 1948. He resigned from UT Austin in 1954 to accept a position as director of the School of Art at the University of Washington.
