Hnizdovsky's still lifes on exhibit at Massachusetts gallery (09/03/00)

Hnizdovsky's still lifes on exhibit at Massachusetts gallery

by Maggie Nowak

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. - A rare opportunity to appreciate the work of Jacques Hnizdovsky, an innovative painter recognized for his unique view of the natural world, will be offered by Lepore Fine Arts in the upcoming exhibition, "Jacques Hnizdovsky: The Still Lifes."

Hnizdovsky made his reputation in the artistic melting pot of New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. The exhibition and sale will feature a group of still-life paintings highlighting the artist's extraordinary ability to capture the elements of design in everyday objects.

Born in Ukraine in 1915, Hnizdovsky was dedicated to using the natural world as a point of departure, examining and rendering, often in minute detail, the objects he observed around him. Mr. Hnizdovsky believed in formal training, and in 1942, amidst the tumult of World War II, he earned his degree in painting from the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, in what is now Croatia.

At the age of 35 Mr. Hnizdovsky emigrated to St. Paul, Minn. He experienced unanticipated artistic success, winning prizes in two prestigious exhibitions. With a newfound confidence in his painting ability, Hnizdovsky decided he would make a try at it full-time, and by 1950 he found himself living in a cold-water flat in the Bronx. In the heady atmosphere of New York City, where the influence of modern art was widespread, Hnizdovsky was forced to re-examine his formal approach to painting. The artist reflected, "I had decided to paint, and I did not know how to paint."

Hnizdovsky explored a new style in the 1950s. He began to see everyday objects as the source for his inspiration. In works such as "Basket of Beans" (1953), "the Stove (1954) and "The Kitchen Sink" (1955), Mr. Hnizdovsky displayed a willingness to simplify form and omit detail. He placed his subjects on a shallow picture plane as an invitation to the viewer to investigate texture and paint surface. Mr. Hnizdovsky's bold use of color, yet another innovation, is also evident in works from this period, including "Two Bags/Lemons and Tomatoes" (1956), "Basket of Tomatoes" (1957).

Hnizdovsky spent two fruitful years living in Paris beginning in 1956. While there, the artist met and married Stephanie Kouzan, nicknamed "Fanny," and a few years later their daughter Mira was born. Hnizdovsky produced many titles from this period, including "Le Fauteuil" (1956), "Crate of Wine" (1956), "Potatoes" (1957) and "The Bureau" (1957). These works reveal the artist's life as one of domesticity and plenty.

By the 1960s Hnizdovsky had developed a following for his unique style as a painter. He was the sole subject of exhibitions in such venues as The Philadelphia Art Alliance (1961), The Butler Institute of American Art (1962), The Chrysler Museum (1967-1968) and Yale University (1977), as well as the feature of many one-man shows, including exhibitions at The Salpeter Gallery in New York (1960-1962 and 1964).

He was honored with various awards from prestigious institutions of the day, including the Associated American Artists (11 awards from 1959 to 1983), the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1961), the Boston Printmakers (1962), and the National Academy of Design (1963), to name a few. This incredible exposure advanced Hnizdovsky's international reputation and by the end of the 1960s his art was widely exhibited in New York, Chicago, Washington, Paris, London and other major cities.

Hnizdovsky's mature work can be characterized by his commitment to the natural world. While living in New York City Mr. Hnizdovsky would escape from the pomp and circumstance of the city's art scene by visiting two of his favorite retreats, the Bronx Zoo and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. The artist wrote: "Here in nature, I was not confronted with so many of the problems I faced with humans. The inhabitants of the zoo do not care whether someone is a realist, expressionist, or an abstract painter ... and in addition, as models ... I could afford them. They were content with peanuts."

This mature style reflected Hnizdovsky's interest in the symmetrical, repetitive arrangement of forms in a shallow pictorial field. These images were not only to be admired for their ability to excite the viewer's senses with their powerful color and texture, but also for their fidelity to design and formidable technical virtuosity. In examples such as "Turnips" (1980), "Radishes, Corn and Celery" (1983), "Onions - Three Kinds" (1983), and "Potatoes - Three Kinds" (1984), the viewer is confronted by the absolute clarity of the images. Yet, for all their simplicity, Hnizdovsky was able to articulate the many paradigms he spent a lifetime perfecting: his love of nature, his belief in the absolute preparedness of the artist and his ability to derive inspiration from the commonplace.

By the end of his lifetime in 1985, Hnizdovsky was represented in major public, institutional and private collections, among them The Addison Gallery of American Art, The Butler Institute of American Art, The Chrysler Museum, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago and The Ukrainian Museum, New York.

The exhibition and sale will take place from September 9 to October 21 at Lepore Fine Arts, 58 Merrimac St., Newburyport, Mass. A fund-raising preview to benefit the Montserrat College of Art "Angel Program" will be held Thursday, September 7, at 6-8 p.m. A public reception will take place on Sunday, September 24, at 4-6 p.m. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. For more information call (978) 462-1663, e-mail [email protected], or visit the website at http://www.artnet.com/lepore.html

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