Paul Brach
Encyclopedia
Paul Brach, Born March 13, 1924 in New York City
and he died November 16, 2007 in Easthampton, New York
. Paul Brach was primarily known as an American
abstract
painter
and as a lecturer
and educator.
As an abstract painter Paul Brach exhibited his work in New York with the Leo Castelli
Gallery, the Cordier & Eckstrom Gallery, and with the André Emmerich
Gallery.
and the Bronx. He went to the University of Iowa
where he studied painting with Grant Wood
. He served in the US Army during World War II. After the war, he finished school in Iowa
on the GI Bill. At the University of Iowa he met the artist Miriam Shapiro and in 1946 they married. By 1951 they moved back to New York City and befriended many of the artists in the downtown Abstract expressionist New York School
, including Joan Mitchell
, Larry Rivers
, Knox Martin
and Michael Goldberg
.
During the early 1960s Brach had part time teaching jobs at The New School
, Cooper Union
, The Parsons School of Design and Cornell University
's New York City Program.
In 1967 Brach and his wife Miriam Schapiro
moved to Southern California. He became the Dean of the Cal Arts program in Los Angeles
in 1969.
"In 1967 I was offered the chair of a new art department at the University of California at San Diego. After two years at UCSD, I became the founding dean of the School of Art at the California Institute of the Arts
. I decided to come to [CalArts] because Los Angeles was more fun, and I could find my peers here. I mean there are artists like Bob Irwin
, and Ed Kienholz, and Larry Bell
, and people who I think are doing good work. And Cal Arts seems goofy enough. What really knocked me out was that the makers of Mary Poppins are inadvertently funding something that's going to make Easy Rider
." Cal Arts quickly became one of the best art schools in the country.
In 1975 they returned to the New York Art world. Brach became the chair of the Division of the Arts of Fordham University
at Lincoln Center. Eventually he gave up teaching and administration and devoted himself to his painting. His work was represented by various galleries until 1998.
In 1998, they moved permanently to East Hampton
. "Although I was without a dealer until 2005, I was working well in my East Hampton studio. Elly and Len Flomenhaft, who were opening a gallery, knew and loved my work. Therefore, I am now a part of the Flomenhaft Gallery." He died in East Hampton
November 16, 2007 of prostate cancer.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and he died November 16, 2007 in Easthampton, New York
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
. Paul Brach was primarily known as an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and as a lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
and educator.
As an abstract painter Paul Brach exhibited his work in New York with the Leo Castelli
Leo Castelli
Leo Castelli was an American art dealer. He was best known to the public as an art dealer whose gallery showcased cutting edge Contemporary art for five decades...
Gallery, the Cordier & Eckstrom Gallery, and with the André Emmerich
André Emmerich
André Emmerich was an influential German born American gallerist who specialized in the color field school and pre-Columbian art while also taking on artists such as David Hockney and Al Held....
Gallery.
Biography
Paul Brach was born in New York City and was raised in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and the Bronx. He went to the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
where he studied painting with Grant Wood
Grant Wood
Grant DeVolson Wood was an American painter, born four miles east of Anamosa, Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century.- Life and career :His family moved to Cedar Rapids after his...
. He served in the US Army during World War II. After the war, he finished school in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
on the GI Bill. At the University of Iowa he met the artist Miriam Shapiro and in 1946 they married. By 1951 they moved back to New York City and befriended many of the artists in the downtown Abstract expressionist New York School
New York School
The New York School was an informal group of American poets, painters, dancers, and musicians active in the 1950s, 1960s in New York City...
, including Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell was a "second generation" abstract expressionist painter. She was an essential member of the American Abstract expressionist movement, even though much of her career took place in France. Along with Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler she was one of her era's few...
, Larry Rivers
Larry Rivers
Larry Rivers was an American artist, musician, filmmaker and occasional actor. Rivers resided and maintained studios in New York City, Southampton, New York and Zihuatanejo, Mexico.-Biography:...
, Knox Martin
Knox Martin
Knox Martin is an American painter, sculptor and muralist.Born in 1923 in Barranquilla, Colombia, he studied at the Art Students League of New York from 1946 till 1950. He is one of the leading members of New York School - a group of artists and writers. He lives and works in New York City."Art is...
and Michael Goldberg
Michael Goldberg
Michael Goldberg was an American abstract expressionist painter and teacher known for his gestural action paintings, abstractions and still-life paintings. His work was recently seen in September 2007 in a solo exhibition at Knoedler & Company in New York City, as well as several exhibitions at...
.
During the early 1960s Brach had part time teaching jobs at The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
, Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
, The Parsons School of Design and Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
's New York City Program.
In 1967 Brach and his wife Miriam Schapiro
Miriam Schapiro
Miriam Schapiro is a Canadian-born artist based in America. She is a pioneer of feminist art. She is also considered part of the Pattern and Decoration art movement....
moved to Southern California. He became the Dean of the Cal Arts program in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1969.
"In 1967 I was offered the chair of a new art department at the University of California at San Diego. After two years at UCSD, I became the founding dean of the School of Art at the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
. I decided to come to [CalArts] because Los Angeles was more fun, and I could find my peers here. I mean there are artists like Bob Irwin
Robert Irwin (artist)
Robert Irwin is an American Installation artist. He lives and works in San Diego, California.-Beginnings:Robert Irwin was born in 1928 in Long Beach, California to Robert Irwin and Goldie Anderberg Irwin...
, and Ed Kienholz, and Larry Bell
Larry Bell
Larry Bell may refer to:*Lawrence Dale Bell , American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation*Larry Bell , contemporary artist based in Los Angeles, California and Taos, New Mexico*Larry Bell, founder of Bell's Brewery...
, and people who I think are doing good work. And Cal Arts seems goofy enough. What really knocked me out was that the makers of Mary Poppins are inadvertently funding something that's going to make Easy Rider
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
." Cal Arts quickly became one of the best art schools in the country.
In 1975 they returned to the New York Art world. Brach became the chair of the Division of the Arts of Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
at Lincoln Center. Eventually he gave up teaching and administration and devoted himself to his painting. His work was represented by various galleries until 1998.
In 1998, they moved permanently to East Hampton
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
. "Although I was without a dealer until 2005, I was working well in my East Hampton studio. Elly and Len Flomenhaft, who were opening a gallery, knew and loved my work. Therefore, I am now a part of the Flomenhaft Gallery." He died in East Hampton
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
November 16, 2007 of prostate cancer.
Books
- Marika Herskovic, New York School Abstract Expressionists Artists Choice by Artists, (New York School Press, 2000.) ISBN 0-9677994-0-6
External links
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DEED6173FF937A25753C1A9639C8B63, 2005 NY Times review, retrieved November 27, 2007
- http://imoralist.blogspot.com/2007/11/paul-brach-1924-2007.html Obituary, retrieved online November 27, 2007
- http://www.flomenhaftgallery.com/artists/paul_brach_artist_page.htm Biography, retrieved online November 27, 2007
- http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/tranSCRIPTs/brach71.htm, Smithsonian Archives of American Art, Interview with Paul Brach at Valencia, California 1971 with Barry Schwartz, accessed online November 27, 2007