Themes and Variations A Study of Form HENRI MATISSE & DIMITRY GERRMAN
Dear Friends and Collectors, Wally Findlay Galleries is pleased to present our most recent e-catalogue, Themes and Variations, featuring works by French Modern Master Henri Matisse and Belarusian Contemporary Sculptor Dimitry Gerrman. For further information in regards to the current collections, please contact the New York gallery. We look forward to hearing from you. WALLY FINDLAY GALLERIES 124 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022 (212) 421 5390 NEWYORK@WALLYFINDLAY.COM
F r e n c h Modern Master (1869-1954)
H e n r i M a t i s s e ( 1 8 6 9-1 9 5 4 ) Henri Matisse is regarded as one of the great formative artists of the 20 th Century, known for his original draughtsmanship, mastery of the expressive language of drawing, and influence as a leading figure in Modern Art. Matisse was born in Le Cateau in northern France on December 31, 1869. The son of a middle-class family, he studied and began to practice law until he became intrigued by the practice of painting in 1890. In 1892, having given up his law career, he went to Paris to study art formally. His first teachers were academically trained and relatively conservative; Matisse s own early style was a conventional form of Naturalism, inspired by the Old Masters. He also studied Contemporary Art, especially that of the Impressionists, and he began to experiment, earning a reputation as a rebellious member of his studio classes. Matisse s true artistic liberation came in terms of the use of color to render forms and organize spatial planes. Matisse drew inspiration from the French painters Paul Gauguin and Paul Cézanne, the Dutch artist, Vincent van Gogh, and the pointillist paintings of French artists Henri-Edmond Cross and Paul Signac, adopting their techniques and modifying them to suit his original style. In 1905 Matisse exhibited alongside André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck. Together, the group was dubbed Les Fauves (literally, the wild beasts ) because of the extremes of emotionalism in which they seemed to have indulged, their use of vivid colors, and their distortion of shapes. While he was regarded as a leader of radicalism in the arts, Matisse was beginning to gain the approval of a number of influential critics and collectors, including the American expatriate writer Gertrude Stein and her family. Among many important commissions he received was that of a Russian collector who requested mural panels illustrating dance and music (both completed in 1911; now in the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg). Such broadly conceived themes ideally suited Matisse; allowing him the freedom of invention and play of form and expression. His images of dancers and of the human figure convey expressive form first and the particular details of anatomy only secondarily. Matisse extended this principle into other fields; including bronze sculptures, drawings and lithographs, revealing his genius at creating expressive contours. Although intellectually sophisticated, Matisse always emphasized the importance of instinct and intuition in the production of a work of art. He argued that an artist did not have complete control over color and form; instead, colors, shapes, and lines would come to dictate to the sensitive artist how they might be employed in relation to one another. He often emphasized his joy in abandoning himself to the play of the forces of color and design, and he explained the rhythmic, but distorted, forms of many of his figures in terms of the working out of a total pictorial harmony. Matisse died in Nice on November 3, 1954. Unlike many artists, he was internationally popular during his lifetime, enjoying the favor of collectors, art critics, and the younger generation of artists. His vast œuvre encompassed painting, drawing, sculpture, graphic arts (as diverse as etchings, linocuts, lithographs, and aquatints), paper cutouts, and book illustration. His varied subjects comprised landscape, still life, portraiture, domestic and studio interiors, and particularly focused on the female figure.
B e l a r u s i a n C o n t e m p o r a r y Sculptor (b. 1955)
D i m i t r y G e r r m a n ( b. 1 9 5 5 ) Dimitry Gerrman was born in 1955 in Gomel, Belorussia. His interest in sculpture at an early age led him to study art throughout his primary schooling, and in 1974 he graduated from the Sculpture Department of the Glebov Art College in Minsk. Furthering his early accomplishments was his first commission: a monumental relief that was dedicated to the Russian Revolution, in Gomel, Belorussia. By 1980 his extraordinary talent had been championed by the faculty of the Vera Mukhina Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he graduated from the Department of Monumental Sculpture in 1985. This support continued during an active schedule of national exhibitions and commissioned projects throughout the Glasnost period. In 1990 Gerrman moved to the United States and continued to develop his artistic endeavors working with smaller galleries and private art dealers. His work received strong interest from major collectors and several institutions, including a commission for the highly regarded Lester Levy Humanitarian Award. In 1994 Gerrman created another sculpture, the Crying Violin, which became the International Elie Wiesel Holocaust Remembrance Award. The inaugural presentation was given for outstanding dedication and service to Steven Spielberg for his movie Schindler s List. By 1996 Gerrman was settled in the American lifestyle and became a member of the prestigious National Sculpture Society. Having found inspiration and comfort from the continuing demand for his editions and newer sculptures, his commissions continued to receive critical acclaim and were endorsed by leading architects around the globe. Many of his newer sculptures, including Circle of Time; 1999, were commissioned for a major interior project at a renowned Beaux Arts Building in New York, while his sculpture Reflection; 2000 was acquired by The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg. Both of these astounding works reflect his philosophical point of view in their simplicity and continuity of movement. It is often noted that Gerrman s Russian cultural heritage combined with his classical training underlie his work. He constantly searches for self-expression in his art by exploring variations of themes and compositions, and by experimenting with plasticity of form and rhythm. Gerrman s works can be found in numerous museums around the world, including The State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, which he truly feels is an exalted honor from his Mother Russia. We, too, feel honored in representing Gerrman on an exclusive basis in America since 2003.
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 71 12 3/4 x 10 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136680
The Letter 1/7, 2015 20 x 6 x 8 inches bronze on granite base WFG 136607
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 99 14 x 11 1/8 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136700
The Bather 1/7, 1997 30 x 9 1/4 x 7 1/2 inches bronze on granite base WFG 135963
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated pages 14 & 15 two sheets, each measuring 15 1/8 x 11 1/8 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136677
The Golden Gate 1/7, 2015 35 x 24 x 9 inches bronze on granite base WFG 136609
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 67 9 1/8 x 10 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136675
House of Cards 1/7, 2015 22 x 12 x 9 inches bronze on granite base WFG 136610
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 159 8 3/4 x 7 3/8 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136698
Eclipse 1/7, 2011 33 inches bronze on granite base WFG 136711
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 62 9 7/8 x 9 1/4 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136695
Paganini (small) 5/7, 1991 34 x 10 x 7 inches bronze WFG 134145
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 62 9 7/8 x 9 1/4 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136695
Man with Newspaper 3/7, 1996 9 x 5 x 5 1/2 inches bronze on granite base WFG W 136614
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 110 11 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136707
The Falling 1/7, 2012 54 x 19 x 16 inches bronze on granite base WFG W 135276
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 28 7 x 11 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136682
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 141 15 x 11 1/8 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136692
Apple Picker 1/7, 2012 54 inches bronze on granite base WFG W 136710
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 183 15 x 11 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136687
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 90 9 7/8 x 7 7/8 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136690
Female Torso 2012 24 x 17 x 7 inches bronze on granite base WFG 134809
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 43 13 3/4 x 11 1/8 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136681
Torso in Space 1/7, 2011 37 inches bronze WFG 135964
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 103 22 x 18 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136708
On the River 1/7, 2015 39 x 54 x 11 inches bronze on granite base WFG 136611
Florilège des Amours de Ronsard, 1948 Albert Skira, Paris, 96/300, illustrated page 161 9 3/4 x 11 1/8 inches lithograph in sanguine on Arches paper WFG W 136699
Pearl Diver 2/7, 1997 29 x 15 x 8 inches bronze on granite base WFG W 134320
For further information and pricing of these artworks please contact the gallery: New York + 1 (212) 421 5390 newyork@wallyfindlay.com 124 East 57th Street New York, NY 10222 Gallery Hours: Tuesday Saturday : 10 am 6 pm Palm Beach + 1 (561) 655 2090 palmbeach@wallyfindlay.com 165 Worth Avenue Palm Beach, FL 33480 Gallery Hours: Monday Saturday : 10 am 6 pm