'Forms in Blue and Gray' by Robert George Gilberg, 1954; American Abstraction

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Signed lower right, "Gilberg" for Robert Gilberg and dated 1954.

A substantial gouache abstract comprising angular and pendant forms of … Read more Signed lower right, "Gilberg" for Robert Gilberg and dated 1954.

A substantial gouache abstract comprising angular and pendant forms of sage, ivory and gun-metal gray contained within vertical, rectangular enclosures of pewter and sky-blue.

Born in Oakland, Robert George Gilberg first studied at the Oakland Art Center during the 1930s. Following service during WWII, he settled in Nevada City, California where he remained until shortly before his death in San Francisco. Gilberg exhibited widely and with success and was the recipient of numerous medals, prizes and juried awards, including at the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts, (1941, 1942, solo); the California Watercolor Society, (1946-53); the Army Art Exhibit, (1945, 1st prize) and the California State Fair (1957) among others.

In his foreword to Robert Gilberg's 1971 Memorial exhibition catalog, Wayne Thiebaud asked: "How in the world did he build such worlds?" Answering his own question, though only partially, Thiebaud said: "Good paintings insist on a curious magic... of turning the simple into the grand."

Although not much given to explaining his own work, Gilberg has written:

"Art springs from the urge to communicate.
It is not always the absolute portrayal of existing fact.

We all have ideas to convey,
We all recognize beauty,
We all respond to nature's moods.

The color of winter is drab;
The trees of winter are naked;
The color of spring is brilliant;
The trees of spring are clothed with leafiness.

Through art, we make evident our profoundest responses"

- Robert Gilberg, 1948 See less