Thursday 12th November | 7.30pm | Zoom
Martin Beek writes:
My lecture follows on from the November 2025, ‘Artists in Israel since 1948’. It begins with the Jewish-American avant-garde group of artists who exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show in New York. Ben Shahn and Jack Levine chronicled the first generation communities in New York and their struggles alongside many other European refugees during the years of the Great Depression.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ provided artists with employment during those difficult times. The Detroit Industry murals of 1932–33 by Diego Rivera, the celebrated and controversial Mexican artist, reflect radical politics and his Jewish heritage. Artistic innovations continued during the war and beyond, encouraged by benefactors such as Solomon and Peggy Guggenheim.
Many European artists took refuge in the USA, notably Max Ernst, Max Beckmann and Marc Chagall. A significant number of the 1940s–50s Abstract Expressionists were also Jewish. The talk looks at the theorists Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg in their dialogues on Existentialism versus Postmodernism. Barnett Newman and Morris Louis were exponents of non-representational painting.
There are interesting links between Jewish twentieth-century comic book art and Pop Art, particularly evident in the work of Roy Lichtenstein and Philip Guston. We will also look at a few contemporary artists, who have returned to figurative painting, notably Alice Neel, Wolf Khan and Alex Katz. My slides include photographs that he has taken during many visits to outstanding American museums and collections including this past summer. I hope to provide a short reading list and links for those who might find it helpful. Martin
More details to follow in the next few days or contact cjrelations@ccj.org.uk.
