The above is a painting by Gertrude Abercrombie. She was born in Austin but mostly lived in Chicago. Friends with jazz people like Sarah Vaughan and Dizzy Gillespie. I certainly wouldn't say she was the only American artist with surrealist tendencies. Obviously not. But she may have come up with the most American kind of surrealism. Homey while also being strange and dreamy.
3 comments:
Very nice find. I'd certainly never heard of Gertrude Abercrombie but I really like the picture you posted. Doors make for a fascinating conceptual image.
I went looking for more of her work and found a profile on a website called 'Lost (and Found) Artist Series'. I liked that she came up with the idea of painting tiny pictures so she could sell more - there's one shown in the article that's surrounded by multiple wooden frames. The one titled 'Charlie Parker's Favorite Painting' (no idea what it was really called) is another I liked a lot.
https://magazine.artland.com/lost-and-found-artist-series-gertrude-abercrombie/
..sheesh, the link didn't show up at all...
Doors speak to the eyes and the subconscious because they carve out space in the middle of solid matter. I'm guessing a lot of people walk through doors in their dreams.
I like that Lost and Found Artist page a lot. Artland seems to have a few more, so in due time I'll check them out. They quote Abercrombie as saying "I am not interested in complicated things nor in the commonplace, I like to paint simple things that are a little strange." This is something I can relate to.
BTW, I opened the package. Been curious about Parasite. Thank you much.
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