Jan Wunderman (American 1921-2014) "Tachee Ii": Acrylic on Canvas

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a good example of American Abstract Expressionism by established contemporary artist Jan Wunderman, depicting stacked asymmetrical rock-like forms, which is … Read more a good example of American Abstract Expressionism by established contemporary artist Jan Wunderman, depicting stacked asymmetrical rock-like forms, which is rooted in the artist's nod towards nature; painted in translucent tones retaining a rich and strong color sense which is part of the artist's vocabulary;
In 1938, Jan Wunderman enrolled in a four-year fine-art degree at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, California, but found it especially difficult for women, who were seldom chosen for the best painting classes. Wunderman was one of two women chosen for such a class in the company of eighteen male students. After finishing at Otis, she had the good fortune of meeting Man Ray and Maya Deren. She was immediately drawn to the excitement and possibilities of abstraction and began to work outside the confines she had known in her classical art training. She convinced the Gastine Gallery of Los Angeles to give her and two other young women painters an exhibition before leaving for New York in 1946. Once in New York, she found herself immersed in a painting culture that hadn’t yet condensed into what we now know as Abstract Expressionism. She indulged the experience and fell instantly in line with its individualism and openness. While learning from the works by De Kooning, Kline, Pollack, and many others, she began attending classes at the Brooklyn Museum Art School with Reuben Tam. Under his guidance, her work began to develop a very personal statement far removed from the constricting ideology of art school. See less