For press information, contact: Courtney Kennedy or Nancy Eckhardt, 214.969.9410
Virgil Grotfeldt: Memories and Transformations
March 9 - April 29, 2001Pillsbury and Peters Fine Art is pleased to announce a major exhibition devoted to the work of the critically-acclaimed Houston artist, Virgil Grotfeldt. Opening to the public at a reception for the artist Friday, March 9th from 5:30-7:30 p.m., the display will survey the last five years in the career of one of Texas' most influential and original painters. The first solo show of its kind in North Texas, the exhibit will include thirty-five recent paintings and will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue including an introduction by Walter Hopps, the esteemed critic and a long-time friend of the artist.
As Mr. Hopps has stated, Grotfeldt's art is rooted in the twentieth-century tradition of biomorphic abstraction, a form of art that depicts animal and plant shapes in ways suggestive of nature but in no way a literal depiction. "Not since the early Pollock or the late Arshile Gorky," Hopps continues, "have I seen the dimensionally modeled forms as in the biomorphic abstraction of Virgil Grotfeldt. Nature and abstract form define Grotfeldt's art as well as sustain its value as a personal meditation upon essential life forces."
In 1987, Grotfeldt had an exhibition at Gallerie Theeboom in Amsterdam. While there, he met the Dutch artist Waldo Bien, who had been a student of Joseph Beuys in his final period at the Düsseldorf Academy and who introduced Grotfeldt to the medium of coal dust. Suspended in an aqueous-based acrylic medium, Grotfeldt's dust particles are manipulated by the brush to create extraordinary biomorphic forms. The three-dimensional quality of these compositions extends the legacy of Wassily Kandinsky and even Max Ernst, who explored similar subjects.
Virgil Grotfeldt was born in 1948 in Decatur, Illinois. In 1971, he received his B.S. from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston and in 1974, earned his M.F.A. from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia. The artist has shown in both group and solo exhibitions across the country and his work is housed in various public collections, including The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Free International University World Art Collection, Zeist, The Netherlands; and Upriver Gallery Collection, Chengdu, China. Grotfeldt has also been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards, specifically the Pollock Krasner Award in 1999; first place in the Assistance League of Houston Annual Juried Exhibit, 1993; and The Engelhard Award in 1991.
Pillsbury and Peters Fine Art is located at 2913 Fairmount at the corner of Cedar Springs. The Gallery is open Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, and by appointment. For further information, contact the Gallery by telephone at 214-969-9410, by facsimile at 214-969-9023, or by e-mail at info@ppfineart.com. For further information on gallery activities and programs, visit the website at www.pillsburypetersfineart.com.
