Bay Area Figurative Movement – The Concept
Bay Area Figurative Painting was a variation, which a handful of Abstract artists in the San Francisco Bay Area exhibited. They embraced the impetuosity of Abstract Expressionism, replacing the redundant abstraction for figurative human images. Initiated to stage an individual and dramatic defection from the established technique of Abstract Expressionism, this new approach of intentionally raw figuration during mid-twentieth century, shaped a new art form called the Bay Area Figurative Movement, also famous as Bay Area Figurative School, Bay Area Figurative Art, and Bay Area Figuration.
The History
About 60 years ago, in 1950s, an artistic earthquake shook the then existing abstract tendencies, when the American painter David Park (1911-60) submitted a small figurative canvas for a competitive exhibition and claimed the trophy. Among those in the early group to follow Parks were Elmer Bischoff (1916-91), Richard Diebenkorn (1922-93), and James Weeks (1922-98).
The Bay Area artists returned to representing human figures at a time when Abstract Expressionism dominated the art world. Their artworks were neither intransigent nor purely illustrational. They stepped into figuration with a considerate understanding of abstraction and a profound interest for the Abstract achievements.
The Details
The entire lot of the Figurative artists shared an affiliation to the huge flat plains of very appealing deep colors that depicted the landscapes of Northern California. Figurative painters concentrated on forms from impasto patches of brilliant paint in plain, nondescript landscapes. In fact, except the color, everything in the paintings used to be nuanced. Thick brushstrokes, coupled with contrasted paint, helped them to set apart figures and backdrops, into rectilinear geometries. Lonely figures were placed alongside the abstracted backdrops, to no longer possess an animated thought or emotion. Their figures tended toward flat, partially abstract forms nevertheless and instead of taking the central role in a painting, were carefully integrated with other elements in the composition.
The Artists
Spanning two decades, 1950s-60s, the Bay Area Figurative Movement is broken down into the three generations:
• First Generation – Many of these painters, such as David Park, Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bischoff, Wayne Thiebaud (born 1920), and James Weeks, were fond of Abstract Expressionism.
• Bridge Generation – It included Nathan Oliveira (born 1928), Theophilus Brown (born 1919), Paul John Wonner (1920-2008), Roland Petersen (born 1926), and Frank Lobdell (born 1921).
• Second Generation – These artists were Bruce McGaw (born 1935), Henry Villierme (born 1928), Joan Brown (1938-90), and Manuel Neri (born 1930).
Conclusion
The Bay Area Figurative Art Movement stunned the Abstract Expressionists and the art society as a whole, when it grew into the most prominent post-war art developments on the West Coast. The inopportune is that many of these painters and their significant works were less documented, or were ignored.
Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please feel free to subscribe to her newsletter at http://www.Labedzki-Art.com.
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