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New York City Gallery Openings video. Christine Berry introduced Yvonne Thomas: Windows and Variations

“The Shape of Abstraction: Selections From the Ollie Collection” at the Saint Louis Art Museum
September 17, 2019–March 8, 2020

In 2017, arts patron and Saint Louis native Ronald Ollie and his wife Monique gifted 81 works by black abstract artists to the St. Louis Art Museum, including examples by Norman Lewis, Sam Gilliam, Chakaia Booker, James Little, and others. The works, while focused on contemporary art, date back to the 1940s, when a generational shift in abstraction was afoot.

The Saint Louis Art Museum is located at One Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri; general admission is free.

Susan Vecsey included in ABSTRACT ART SHOWS.

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Art lovers, rejoice! Through October 27, Water Mill's Parrish ARt Museum is presenting "Abstract Climates: Helen Frankenthaler in Provincetown," a selection of 30 paintings and works on paper by the late abstract expressinoist, including "Low Tide" (near right). In springs, 11 works by late Queens-born abstractionist Walter Plate included X + Yellow (top right) are on view at the Pollock-Krasner House through October 31st.And the Quogue Gallery is exhibition a number of works by Manhattan and East Hampton-based artist Susan Vecsey, including Untitled (Orange/Blue) (bottom right) from August 22 to October 2.

Katonah Museum of Art
Katonah, New York
October 6, 2019 - January 26, 2020

Sparkling Amazons presents the often-overlooked contribution by women artists to the Abstract Expressionist movement and the significant role they played as bold innovators within the New York School during the 1940s and 50s. Through the presentation of some 30 works of art alongside documentary photography, the exhibition captures an important moment in the history of Abstract Expressionism.

The catalyst for this project is the groundbreaking 9th St. show arranged by avant-garde artists with the help of the fledgling gallerist, Leo Castelli in 1951. The show became a pivotal moment for the emergence and acceptance of Abstract Expressionism. The artists of the 9th St. show had struggled to gain critical recognition having been shut out by museums and galleries due to the radical nature of their work. Of the more than 60 artists in the show, including many who were to become prominent figures in Abstract Expressionism, only 11 were women. This is the first time works by these extraordinary women will be brought together since the 9th St. show took place 68 years ago.

In the early 1970s, the preeminent editor and art critic, Thomas Hess, would refer to them as “sparkling Amazons.” These women would neither have viewed themselves as “Amazons” nor as feminists; they simply worked and lived as artists, pursuing their professions with the same dedication as their male counterparts even though the social stakes were much higher for them at the time. Several of the artists, including Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Elaine de Kooning and Helen Frankenthaler went on to have distinguished careers and have found their rightful place in the art historical canon. Others, including Grace Hartigan, Perle Fine and Anne Ryan, enjoyed critical success. The remainder, Sonia Sekula, Day Schnabel, Jean Steubing and Guitou Knoop are yet to be fully recognized by art history, a fact that this exhibition addresses.

Frank Wimberley is not one for procrastination.

Historically, the Sag Harbor-based painter has conceptualized and executed his annual creation for the East End Hospice “Box Art Auction” months ahead of schedule.

Until this year, that is.

For the first time in nearly two decades, the artist was feeling the pressure, considering people are still talking about last summer’s auction — an event he has never missed in its 18 years, and a night he will never forget.

“You know what happened last year, right?” Mr. Wimberley asked with a goodhearted laugh. “I got a bid of the highest it has ever been — a bid of $10,000! I thought it was absolutely amazing. Everybody cheered and jumped up and down. We still can’t get over it. I was at the Parrish Art Museum the other day and they say, ‘You’re the guy!’ It’s nice when somebody remembers you! Everybody likes to be remembered.”

The 92-year-old artist was feeling optimistic ahead of this year’s 19th annual auction on Saturday, August 24, at St. Luke’s Church in East Hampton, where bidders flock to see the collection of small, unadorned boxes transformed into one-of-a-kind creations by some 90 East End artists.

Left to right: Christine Berry and Susan Vecsey.
Photo: Aurora Rose | WWD

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