Syd Solomon

In this video, Christine Berry speaks on Abstract Expressionist, Syd Solomon.

Syd Solomon (1917–2004), who described himself as an ‘Abstract Impressionist’, made the city of Sarasota in Florida his home from 1946 until his death, establishing the Institute of Fine Art at New College, which brought artists such as Philip Guston and Larry Rivers to teach in Sarasota. He was also the first living artist to have work in the collection of the Ringling Museum. Find out more from the Ringling’s website.

The retrospective of the longtime Sarasota artist’s work opens this weekend.

Prior to the public opening of the exhibition Syd Solomon: Concealed and Revealed, at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art this Sunday, Dec. 15, events open to museum members provided a preview of this retrospective of the work of the longtime Sarasota artist.

Solomon lived and created here for many years, including a long stint at the home and studio on Midnight Pass Road he shared with his wife Annie. He’s famed for his abstract paintings, often involving nature, the beach, wind, the shoreline and more. But the exhibit also allows museumgoers the chance to see earlier works, some figurative, some portraits, and to learn more about Solomon’s background. Both his time spent as a camouflage artist during World War II (concealing Allied planes and troops to prevent enemy attack) and as a commercial artist (creating sign lettering and graphic design) are on view here, along with personal photos and items from the vast Solomon family archive.

"Painter, camouflage artist, and cultural connector Syd Solomon is emerging as an important figure in Abstract Expressionism." 

Art & Antiques

SYD SOLOMON AT THE RINGLING  Camouflage and Calligraphy

For Sarasota’s art aficionados and culture vultures, the works of acclaimed abstract expressionist Syd Solomon are well known. And for locals, his time here remains a source of cultural pride and a milestone in the area’s artistic history. But a new exhibition opening this December at The Ringling Museum—Syd Solomon: Concealed and Revealed—proposes to dive deeper into the artist’s early life and inspiration than ever before, presenting a definitive origin story for a man who became a local legend.

Dominating the Searing Wing, Concealed and Revealed brings not only several of Solomon’s paintings to the museum, but also several artifacts from the artist’s early life, most importantly his service in World War II and professional start as a graphic designer and calligrapher in Sarasota, on loan from the Solomon Archive. His son, the artist Mike Solomon, has been working on the archive for five years now, and even he has been surprised by what they’ve found. “The general knowledge was always there,” he says, “but the surprise was in the details, and how it connected to his painting.” When the elder Solomon served in World War II, his camouflage designs hid men, tanks and supplies from German air raids following the Normandy invasion. Fake trees on wheels disguised Allied planes resting on makeshift airstrips. And when Solomon and his fellow soldiers liberated the French town of Roye, they held a big celebration with a parade and a printed poster. That original poster will be on display. And when Solomon moved to Sarasota in 1946, he turned his talents to signage for local businesses and layout work for local newspapers. “And a lot of the look of Sarasota in the ‘40s, in terms of advertising and signage, he made,” Mike says. But more than that, both of these experiences—Solomon the camouflagist and Solomon the calligrapher—would greatly influence the celebrated abstract expressionist he became. “For the people who think they know Syd Solomon’s work, they’ll realize it’s a lot more complex than they thought,” Mike says. “It wasn’t just about nature. It’s expressionism. It’s a personal, autobiographical thing.” Syd Solomon: Concealed and Revealed opens at The Ringling this December.

Discussion with Mike Solomon about Syd Solomon: Views from Above
Cocktails & Collections
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg
Thursday, November 15, 2018
5 - 7 PM
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What made Mike Solomon’s talk about Alfonso Ossorio and the Creeks so captivating was that, as he put it, “It is a personal as well as a cultural history.” An overflow audience packed the Baldwin Family Lecture Room at the East Hampton Library to hear Mr. Solomon, an artist and founding director of the Ossorio Foundation, discuss Ossorio’s art, his generosity, and his influence in the art world of the 1950s and beyond.

The Solomon family — Syd, an important abstract painter, his wife, Annie, and their two children, Mike and Michele — lived at the Creeks, Ossorio’s 57-acre estate on Georgica Pond in East Hampton, for three months in 1959. Thirty years later, Mike returned to East Hampton with his wife and 2-year-old son to work as Ossorio’s studio assistant. After the artist’s death a year later, he became the director of the foundation established by Ted Dragon, Ossorio’s life partner and heir.

Mike Solomon at East Hampton Library
East Hampton Public Library
September 15 - October 10, 2018

Opening Reception
September 15, 2018
7 PM

The Creeks: Epicenter of the 1950s Hamptons Art Community
East Hampton Library | Baldwin Family Lecture Room
Saturday, September 15, 2018 
6 - 7 pm

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Artist Reception and Lecture
Saturday, September 15, 2018 
6:00 pm  
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A lecture by artist Mike Solomon, Ossorio Foundation founding Director:  The Creeks: Epicenter of the 1950 Hamptons Art Community