AMERICAN EXPRESSIONISM
During the mid-1930s a group called The Ten emerged, including such notables as Joseph Solman, Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, Louis Schanker, Ilya Bolotowsky and Ben-Zion. The Ten drove a resurgence of modernism and experimentalism in New York that grew during the years going forward. They came to define American Expressionism which offered a link between modernism and socially conscious art. Today the Mercury Gallery shows works from this era onward, including these artists along with others who share a similar philosophy.
Featured Artist
Ben-Zion
Ben-Zion Weinman (1895-1987) was the son of a Polish cantor and composer who raised him for the rabbinate. He became “Ben-Zion” in America after World War I because “to drag around two names is rather too difficult.” In 1983 he told an interviewer from the Archives of American Art about his discovery by the historic dealer J.B. Neumann.
“I see you coming here from time to time,” said Neumann one Saturday afternoon. “Are you an artist, or are you buying art?” Ben-Zion said he was neither. But Neumann repeated the question several weeks later.
“So I said, ‘I don’t know if you can call that art work,’ ” Ben-Zion recalled, but “I make these small, little drawings on a writing pad. And that’s all that I have.” Neumann asked how much he wanted for three of them. “I don’t know,” Ben-Zion replied. Neumann offered $15. “Not too much?” the artist asked. “No,” said Neumann, “and you’ll find out that I’m probably cheating you.” Instead, the purchase launched Ben-Zion’s career.
Artists
Click Name to view work
- PAMELA PENGLASE BALDWIN
- ILYA BOLOTOWSKY
- BEN-ZION
- BYRON BROWNE
- NICOLAI CIKOVSKY
- GEORGE CONSTANT
- RALSTON CRAWFORD
- BEN ENELOW
- DEBORAH EPSTEIN
- LEE GATCH
- ADOLPH GOTTLIEB
- HARRY GOTTLIEB
- HANANIA HARARIE
- CARMEN JABALOYES
- PHILLIP JONES
- ALAN JOSLIN
- EARL KERKAM
- KARL KNATHS
- LEON KROLL
- STEPHANIE MALLIS
- JON MARSHALL
- MICHAEL MCKINNELL
- JULIA VON METZSCH
- ANTHONY MOORE
- HERMAN ROSE
- LOUIS SCHANKER
- WILLIAM SCHARF
- DONALD SHAMBROOM
- HARRY SHOULBERG
- MAURICE SIEVAN
- JOSEPH SOLMAN
- ANN STRASSMAN
- HANK VIRGONA
- LUCETTE WHITE
- SOL WILSON
- KARL ZERBE
Joseph Solman
(1909–2008)
Joseph Solman was in the vanguard of Expressionist painters that gained critical notice in New York in the 1930s and was a founding member of The Ten.
His works are in collections worldwide, including the British Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, and The Phillips Collection, among many others.
This superb video by 1623 Studios and Heather Atwood explores this fascinating artist’s life and work.
Visit Mercury Gallery
Mercury Gallery exhibits paintings and works on paper by over thirty established artists, whose work has received international recognition and acclaim. The Gallery emphasizes the important historical and visual link between the 1930s New York expressionist group known as The Ten and its contemporary artists, who share the same philosophy.
In 1994, Mercury Gallery opened on Newbury Street in Boston, and in 2001 a second location was opened in Rockport, Massachusetts, the current gallery location. Amnon Goldman, Director, has vast experience as a gallery owner, a private art dealer in London, designer, teacher and curator.
