Now that figuration has reentered the mainstream of contemporary art, it is appropriate to reappraise  the work of a key figure in the development of post-abstract figuration, or new realism, as it was then called, during the 60s and 70s--Gabriel Laderman. Lawrence Fine Art is pleased to announce that it will represent Laderman's work and reintroduce it to the collecting public.

Laderman (1929-2011) started out as an Abstract Expressionist under the direct influence of Hans Hoffmann at Provincetown; Alfred Russell, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Burgoyne Diller, Jimmy Ernst, Stanley William Hayter and Robert J. Wolff at Brooklyn College; and Willem de Kooning, whom he saw privately for critiques of new work every week. He was also influenced by Paul Klee, through his Pedagogical Sketchbook, whose exercises Gabriel worked through.

By the early 60s, Laderman had rejected the conventions of Abstract Expressionism, instead looking for ways to reinform the figure. In this, he had a counterpart with DeKooning who, famously, was unwilling to abandon the figure.

"Imagine the strength of character necessary to stand athwart the rolling tide of Abstract Expressionism and say: 'Stop. Halt,'" said Gallery Director Howard Shapiro. 

Laderman's work draws on a number of influences, including Renaissance art, the conventions of cubism and Eastern mysticism. At the same time, his figurative work, especially, exhibits a psychological acuity that can be sometimes off-putting, as if he sees to the core of the person he is painting.  In this, he reminds us of Andrew Wyeth or even Lucien Freud. His models are not idealized nor particularly attractive. They often sit alone, as if on a harshly lit stage like a character from a Beckett play, emotionally naked.

Laderman was the subject of more than 20 solo exhibitions during his lifetime. He work can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the National Gallery of Art, the Cleveland Museum and the Smithsonian, among others.

Lawrence Fine Art will initially offer a selection of works on paper, then his figurative canvases and still lifes.

Please contact the gallery for more information.