Early Abstracts (1945-1956)
Ary's painting had undergone a radical change.
This had been brewing ever since the early part of World War II. Ary was,
of course, profoundly shaken by the war, by the enormity and brutality and
hideousness of it, and especially by the tragic fate of six million Jews.
He was in an emotional upheaval that affected every phase of his being, and
of course this included walks we would take in Central Park on Sunday afternoons;
we would wind up in some secluded spot and then Ary would give voice to his
thoughts and feelings. He would say, "I cannot
continue to paint the way I have been doing, I am sure that every creative
person will have to make some change. For me, the world of surface realities
is no longer paintable. For nothing is as it formerly seemed. It is not the
surface of things—the
look of things—that is real—it is that which is hidden beneath
the surface—an inner reality of some sort that is real. And that is
what I must search for. I can no longer set up a still-life, or paint the
view of a city street, no matter how much of my own perception and sensitivity
I put into the painting. I shall have to dig down deep within myself—back
to my subconscious, if possible—and bring out what will be an inner
reality."
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Interplay
1953,
oil on canvas,
44 x 36 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
Interplay #1
1953,
oil on canvas,
24 x 19 1/2 in.,
[Private Collection]
Rhythm in Depth
1953,
oil on canvas,
40 3/4 x 30 3/4 in.,
[Museum Collection]
The Forest
1953,
oil on canvas,
44 x 36 in.,
[Museum Collection]
Movement in Space
1954,
oil on canvas,
45 x 36 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
Untitled
1954,
oil on canvas,
36 x 44 in.,
[Private Collection]
Crucifixion
1955,
oil on canvas,
22 1/2 x 17 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
Black, Green, Yellow
Structural
1955,
oil on canvas,
16 x 13 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
Majorca (Mallorca)
1955,
oil on canvas,
22 x 18 in.,
[Private Collection]
The Studio
1956,
oil on canvas,
39 1/4 x 28 5/8 in.,
[Museum Collection]
Carnival
c. 1946-47,
oil on canvas,
19 x 23 in .,
[Private Collection]
Composition
with Parakeet
c. 1950s,
oil on canvas,
[Foundation Collection]
Fragment of Textural Canvas
c. 1950s,
oil on canvas,
16 x 30 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
Interplay #3
c. 1950s,
oil on canvas,
22 x 17 in.,
[Private Collection]
Small Structural
c.1950s,
oil on canvas,
13 x 16 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
Small Structural
c.1950s,
oil on canvas,
16 x 13 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
Small Structural
c.1950s,
oil on canvas,
13 x 16 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
Structural
c.1950s,
oil on canvas,
30 x 24 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
Variation of Forms
c. 1950s,
oil on canvas,
39 1/2 x 49 1/4 in.,
[Private Collection]
Rhythmic Variations
c. late 1940s,
oil on canvas,
28 x 36 in.,
[Museum Collection]
Unidentified
oil on canvas,
24 x 20 1/4in.,
[Private Collection]
Unidentified
oil on canvas,
24 x 20 1/4 in.,
[Private Collection]
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