Mary Heilmann
Influenced by 1960s counterculture, the free speech movement, and the surf ethos of her native California, Mary Heilmann ranks amongst the most influential abstract painters of her generation. Considered one of the preeminent contemporary Abstract painters, Heilmann’s practice overlays the analytical geometries of Minimalism with the spontaneous ethos of the Beat Generation, and are always distinguishable by their often unorthodox—always joyful—approach to color and form.
Raised in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Heilmann completed a degree in literature, before she studied ceramics at Berkeley. Only after moving to New York in 1968 did she begin to paint. While most artists at that time were experimenting with the concept of dematerialization and demanding that painting should avoid any references to experience outside the material presence of the work itself, Heilmann opted for painting, rebelling against the accepted rules. ‘Rather than following the decrees of modern, non-representational formalism, I started to understand that the essential decisions taken during the creative process were more and more related to content. The Modern movement was over…’
Since then, Heilmann has created compositions that evoke a variety of associations. Her work may be non-representational and based on an elementary, geometrical vocabulary—circles, squares, grids and stripes—but there is always something slightly eccentric, casual about them. The simplicity of the forms is played down by a deceptive form of nonchalance: the contours are not clearly defined. In some paintings, amorphous forms appear to melt into each other like liquid wax. Splashes of color can be discerned, sharp edges bleed for no apparent reason, and the ductus of the brushstrokes is always perceptible. Heilmann’s casual painting technique conceals a frequently complex structure that only gradually reveals itself to the viewer.
Selected Artworks
Neo Noir
1998
Wawona
1999
Chemical Billy
2000
Twist of Fate
2005
Sunday Morning
1987
Half Jack
2005
Ghost Pallet
2008
Cirque Mix
1995
Clubchair 47
2008
Clubchair 59
2008
Little Red Boxes
1989
Pal Joey
1987
Malevich Spin
2011
Sea of Joy
2006
Red Tile Piece
1994
Surprise
2012
Mint Table
2012
Green Kiss
1990
Tehachapi #1
1979
Tehachapi #2
1979
Clubchair 55
2008
Rosebud
1983
Untitled
2016
Ming
1986
Three Yellows
2002
No Passing
2011
The Red Screen
1995
Biography
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Selected Group Exhibitions
Selected Awards and Grants
Bibliography
Writings by the artist
Publications
Selected Press
Audiovisuals
Exhibitions
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Ursula
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