Komarin, Biography +
Gary Komarin
A risk taker in the Abstract Expressionist tradition, Gary Komarin was born in New York City, the son of a Czech architect and Viennese writer.
Komarin’s stalwart images have an epic quality that grip the viewer with the idea that he or she is looking at a contemporary description of something timeless. For painter Gary Komarin, abstraction has never been a formal dead end. Rather, it has allowed him to challenge the limitations of the style to make painting ‘include more’ precisely because a recognizable image excludes too much.
Komarin has exhibited extensively throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. In 2008, he had a solo museum exhibition at the Musee Kiyoharu Shirakaba in Japan. The exhibition and catalogue, Moon Flows Like a Willow, was orchestrated by the Yoshii Foundation in Tokyo with galleries in New York, Tokyo and Paris.
In 1996 Komarin’s work was included in a pivotal exhibition at 41 Greene Street, NY, where his work was shown with the paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Philip Guston and Bill Taylor. He has also been honored with the Joan Mitchell Prize in Painting, the New York Foundation for the Arts Grant in Painting, the Edward Albee Foundation Fellowship in Painting, the Elizabeth Foundation New York Prize in Painting and the Benjamin Altman Prize in Painting from the National Academy of Design Museum, New York.
Exhibitions & Collections
Solo exhibitions:
2015
Mark Borghii Gallery, ‘A Wilder Blue’, Bridgehampton, NY
Gallerie Design -e- Space, Don’t Tell LIzzie Borden, Paris
Gallerie Baobob, Incident at Osboiurne Grove, Bogota, Columbia
Gallery 88, East Meets West, Seoul Korea
Madelyn Jordan Gallery, New Paintings and Works on Paper, New York
Mark Borghii, Group Exhibition/Selected Works, Palm Beach, Florida
2014
Mini Gallery, New Paintings and Works on Paper, Asissi Italy
The Morrison Gallery, Farmers Logic, Kent, Connecticut
Galerie Proarta, Komarin, Warhol, Bacon, Arp, Zurich
Cuadro Fine Arts, New Paintings and The French Wig, Dubai
Mark Borghii, Group Exhibition /Selected New Works, Bridgehampton, New York
Gail Severn Gallery, New Paintings, Sun Valley Idaho
2013
Vigo Gallery, In Which the Baron Fallow, London, England
Gail Severn Gallery, Jack’s Bridge, Ketchum Idaho
Annual Galleries, Solo Exhibition, Paris, France
Galerie Proarta, Arp, Motherwell, Komarin and Heilman, Zurich, Switzerland
Elins Eagles Smith Gallery, Tapping Reeve, San Francisco, California
Gremillion and Co. Fine Arts, The Road so Bare and White, Houston, Texas
Cuadro Gallery, The Early Influences, Dubai
Lotte Gallery, Solo Exhibition, Seoul, Korea
2012
Hillsboro Gallery of FineArt, Dublin, Ireland States of Feeling: Gary Komarin,
Robert Motherwell and Larry Poons
Robischon Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Bonbright Gallery, Down and Dirty Whites, Los Angeles, California
2011
Galerie Proarta, Zurich, Switzerland
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum Idaho
Gremillion and Co. Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
2010
Robischon Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Cuadro Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emerates
The Neilson Gallery, Cadiz, Spain
2009
Spanierman Modern, New York, New York
Galerie Proarta, Zurich, Switzerland
Broadbent Gallery, London, England
2008
Kiyohara Museum, Kiyoharu, Japan
The Fine Art Society, London, England
2007
Elins Eagles Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Spanierman Modern, New York, NY
The Goss Gallery, Dallas, TX
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Costello-Childs Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2006
Karolyn Sherwood Gallery, Des Moines, IA
Galerie ProArta, Zurich, Switzerland
SG Modern and Contemporary Fine Arts, New York, NY
The Fine Art Society, London, England
2005
Elins Eagles Smith Gallery, San Francisco, California
J.Johnson Gallery, Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Donna Tribby Fine Arts, Palm Beach, Florida
2004
Hamiltons Gallery, London
Galerie ProArta, Zürich
Broadbent Gallery, London
Gerald Peters Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Gremillion & Company, Houston, Texas
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Karolyn Sherwood Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa
Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
2003
McGrath Gallery, New York
Kraft Leiberman Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Robischon Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Kunstart Zürich, Galerie ProArta, Switzerland
Galerie ProArta, Zug, Switzerland
Gremillion & Company Fine Arts, Austin Texas
2002
Gremillion & Company Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Peyton/Wright Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Galerie ProArta, Zürich
Lizan Tops Gallery, East Hampton, New York
Steven Vail Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa
Ballard Fetherston Gallery, Seattle, Washington
2001
MOFA, New Orleans, Louisiana
Vanier Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Gremillion & Company Fine Arts, Austin, Texas
2000
Peyton/Wright Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Gremillion & Company Fine Arts, Houston Texas
1999
Aurobora Press, San Francisco California
1998
MOFA, New Orleans, Louisiana
CS Schulte Gallery, New Jersey
1997
Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, Washington
1996
Drew University Gallery, Madison, New Jersey
Mark Miller Gallery, East Hampton, New York
1995
Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana
Sandler/Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
1994
Herbert Palmer Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1992
Klarfeld Perry Gallery, New York, New York
1991
Grace Hokin Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
1989
Bruce Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
Scott Hanson Gallery, New York City, New York
1987
Meredith Long and Company, Houston Texas
Sandler/Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Bruce Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
1985
Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York
Sandler/Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Bruce Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
1984
Joy Horwich Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Herbert Palmer Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1983
Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York
Meadows Museum of the Arts, Dallas, Texas
1982
The University of Texas Art Gallery, Irving, Texas
Meredith Long and Co., Houston, Texas
1981
Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York
Hobart and William Smith Colleges Art Gallery, New York
William Campbell Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas
1979
Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York
Selected group exhibitions:
2007
Katonah Museum, Katonah, NY
2006
Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY
Spanierman Modern, New York, NY
Dean Jensen Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2005
Kunstart Amsterdam w/Nico DeLaive Gallery, Amsterdam
Goss Gallery Inaugural Show, Dallas, Texas
London Art Fair, w/Broadbent Gallery
San Francisco Art Fair, w/Elins Eagles Smith Gallery
“Transversal”, curated group show, Robischon Gallery, Denver
2004
Ronald Feldman Gallery, Philips de Pury & Co, curated auction, ‘Democratic Victory ’04’, New York
‘Slow Art’, Broadbent Gallery, London
‘32 X 32’, Gerald Peters Gallery, Dallas, Texas
London Art Fair, Broadbent Gallery, Londonworks on Paper, w/Burton Marinkovich, The Armory, New York
Bologna Art Fair, Broadbent, London
2003
“The Americans”, Warhol, Francis, Lichtenstein, Christo, Komarin at Galerie Proarta, Zurich
Basel Art Fair, Hamiltons Gallery, London
Milan Art Fair, Galerie Arte et Arta, Bologna, Italy
Art of This Century, The Armory, New York, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto
Angus Broadbent Gallery, London
Richmond House Project, London; Architect: Sir Terry Farrell; Curator: Tim Jeffries, Hamiltons Gallery
New Abstraction, Lizan Tops Gallery, East Hampton, New York
Kraft/Lieberman Gallery Inaugural Exhibition, Chicago
Luke Honey, London
2002
National Academy of Design Museum Annual Invitational - Recipient Benjamin Altman Prize ín Painting
Kunstart Fair, Zurich, Galerie ProArta
Robischon Gallery, “Solice”: 9/11
Galerie ProArta, Züg, Switzerland
Lowe Gallery Los Angeles, Inaugural Exhibit
100 NJ Artists Make Prints, NJ State Museum, Morris Museum, Noyes Museum
The Maker's Mark, The University of New Orleans, New Orleans
Works on Paper, w/Burton Marinkovich, The Armory, New York City
2001
Almost Giddy, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee
New Directions, Masur Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
Report & Find, Robischon Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Paintings on Paper, Tim Hill Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan
New York/New Works on Paper, Lizan Tops, East Hampton, New York
Chicago Art Fair, with Tandem Press
San Francisco Art Fair, with Tandem Press
Works on Paper, w/Burton Marinkovich, The Armory, New York
2000
Tandem Press, The Print Fair at the Armory, New York
Homage to the Twentieth Century, New Orleans Center for Contemporary Arts
Chicago Art Fair, with Thomas McCormick, Chicago
St. Louis Print Fair, w/Burton Marinkovich
The Baltimore Print Fair, w/Gary Godwin, St. Louis
Works on Paper, w/Burton Marinkovich, The Armory, New York
1999
The American Summer, Tim Hill Gallery, Birmingham Michigan
San Francisco Art Fair, with Fay Gold, Greg Kucera, Brian Gross Galleries
Works on Paper, with Jeffrey Hoffeld and Co., The Armory, New York
Nature Naturing, Percival Gallery, Des Moines Iowa
‘About Paint’, Linda Cathcart Fine Arts, San Francisco California
Komarin Monotypes, Aurobora Press, San Francisco California
Rutgers University, Grant Winners/ A Survey of New Work, Rutgers New Jersey
1998
On Paper - Associated American Artists, New York
Mac Attack, John McEnroe Gallery, New York
Third Person, Merrill Lynch, New York
Works on Paper, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle Washington
Works on Paper, Adam Baumgold Gallery at the Armory, New York
The Chicago Art Fair, with Garner Tullis, New York
Susan Conway Gallery, Washington DC
The French Wig, Jan Andersen, New York
1997
Newark Museum, New Jersey Biennial, curated by Joseph Jacobs
The New Americans, The John McEnroe Gallery in Kobe Japan
University of Hawaii, National Invitational Drawing Exhibition
East Hampton Drawing Invitational, Arlene Bujese, East Hampton New York
The Rain Forest Foundation Benefit, John McEnroe Gallery, New York
Gramercy Park, Chateaux Marmont, Montgomery Glasoe Gallery, Minneapolis MN
Pinned to the Wall, Parchman Stremmel Gallery, Austin Texas
Perspectives of Nature, Jan Abrams Fine Art, New York
Young Painters, Montgomery Glasoe, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1996
Guston, Basquiat, Komarin, Traylor - John McEnroe Gallery, New York
The Chicago Art Fair, Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans Louisiana
A Changing Cast/Changing Color, Michael Walls for Ruth O’Hara, New York
Fifty/50, Terrain Gallery, San Francisco California
Balancing Act, Room Project Space, New York
Works on Paper, with Jan Andersen Fine Art at the Armory, New York
1995
New Works on Paper, Installation at Margaret Lipworth, Boca Raton, FL
A Part; A Whole, Room Project Space, New York
New Work/New York, curated by G. Presti, Gagosian Gallery, New York
‘On a Smaller Scale’, Grace Hokin, Palm Beach Florida
1994
Narrative Abstractions, Bruce Helander Gallery, Palm Beach Florida
New Directions, William Campbell Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas
American Painting, Meredith Long and Co., Houston Texas
1993
Art and Object, Frankel/Nathanson Gallery, New York
Post Modern Abstraction, Grace Hokin Gallery, Palm Beach Florida
1992
Re-thinking the Grid, Brian Reddy Gallery, New Jersey
A Drawing Survey, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York
1990
Past/Present/Future, Margulies Taplin Gallery, Boca Raton Florida
The Figure in the 20th Century, Meredith Long and Co. Houston Texas
Wet Paint, Scott Hanson Gallery, New York
1988
Recent Drawings Here and Abroad, Herbert Palmer Gallery, Los Angeles
The Morris Museum Biennial, Morristown New Jersey
Chicago Art Fair, with Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York
1987
The University of Texas Art Gallery - Texas Artists, Dallas, Texas
San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio Texas
The Longview Museum, Longview Texas
Fun and Brains, The Kraine Club, New York
1986
Indigestion, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York
Chicago art Fair, w/Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York
‘Words’ Joy Moos Gallery, Miami Florida
Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach Florida
The Dog Days of August, Jacquie LittleJohn Gallery, New York
1985
Ten Painters in Texas, University of Texas, El Paso Texas
The Meadows Museum of the Arts, Dallas Texas
1983
Recent Trends in American Art, The Tampa Museum, Tampa Florida
Modern Masters/Contemporary Works on Paper, Max Davidson Gallery, New York
The Painted Object Painted, Herbert Palmer Gallery, Los Angeles California
Art and the Law, The Dallas Museum, Dallas Texas
National Drawing Competition, Yale University Art Gallery
1982
About Face, Laura Carpenter Gallery, Dallas Texas
Wunsch Art Center Exhibition, organized by the Whitney Museum, New York
The Arkansas Art Center, 26th Annual Painting Exhibition, Little Rock Arkansas
1981
The Museum of Fine Arts, Eugene Oregon
1979
In Context, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York
Hobart and William Smith Colleges Art Gallery, Geneva, New York
Prizes & Awards:
The Joan Mitchell Prize in Painting
The Edward Albee Foundation New York/Fellowship in Painting
The New York Foundation for the Arts/Grant in Painting
The Benjamin Altman Prize/National Academy of Design Museum, New York
The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts New York/Grant in Painting
Philip Hulitar Award in Painting
Museum of Contemporary Art/Arkansas Prize in Painting
Graduate Teaching Fellowship/Boston University Graduate School of Fine Arts
Collaborations:
Flatbed Press, Austin, Texas, 2004
Segura Press, Tempe, Arizona, 2001
Garner Tullis, New York, 2000, 1997
Tandem Press, University of Wisconsin, 2000
Aurobora Press, San Francisco, CA, 2002, 1999
Rutgers University Press, School of Innovative Printmaking, NJ, 1998
Selected Bibliography:
2003 King, Sarah S., Art in America, July
Brandenberg, Andreas, Zuger Presse, 'Complex Paintings from Overseas’, Galerie ProArta
2002 Taylor, Art, 'Komarin at Lizan Tops’, East Hampton Arts, New York
2000 Schwabsky, Barry, ‘Paintings do the Talking Without Too Many Specifics’,The New York Times
1998 Langdon, Davis, ‘French Wig Arrives in East Hampton,’ Hamptons Gazette
1997 Foxworth, Janet, ‘Gary Komarin’s The Naming of John Dreamer’, The AtlantaJournal
1996 Waddington, Chris, ‘Subjects Simple but Art Deceptively Sophisticated’,The New Orleans Lagniappe
1995 Grayson, Clive, ‘Gary Komarin at Susan Conway’, The Washington Post
1994 Lloyd, Amy, ‘Gary Komarin Shows New Expressive Work at Sandler/Hudson,Art in America
1993 Reed, Vincent, ‘Komarin Explores the Painterly’ at Klarfeld Perry,
Arts Magazine
1991 Loughery, John, ‘Komarin, The Master of the Elemental Image’
at Maxwell Davidson, Arts Magazine
1989 Watson, Edward, ‘Surrealist Loads Canvas’, The New Jersey Star Ledger
1987 Russell, John, ‘The Dog Days of August’, The New York Times
1985 Zimmer, William, ‘Something – But What?, The New York Times
Zimmer, William, ‘A Rich Array…From Newburgh to Newark’, The New York Times
1982 Everingham, Carol, ‘A Comical View of the American Dream’, The Houston Post
1981 Perry, Paloma, ‘Stories in Paint’, The Atlanta Journal
Kutner, Janet, ‘Komarin Shows Strong Work’, The Dallas Morning News
1980 Baker, Ralph, ‘Komarin Paintings and Works on Paper’, The Museum of Art at The University of
Oregon, Eugene, catalog essay
1979 Parks, Addison, ‘Gary Komarin New Work at Maxwell Davidson’, ARTS Magazine
Private Collections:
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Gremillion & Co. Fine Arts, Houston
Newark Museum
Stevens Corporation
Montclair Art Museum
Meredith Long & Co., Houston
Jersey City Museum
Tim Jeffries, Hamiltons Gallery, London
Morris Museum
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
Museum of Contemporary Art, Arkansas
Jeffrey Hoffeld & Co., New York
Zimmerli Museum
Boston University Museum of Fine Arts
Noyes Museum
Wendy Olsoff, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York
Microsoft Corporation
Touche Ross, Inc
AT&T
The Newark Public Library
The Nordstrom Corporation
Galerie Proarta, Zurich
Continental Airlines
Rutgers University
Blount Corporation
Houston Memorial Hospital
Prudential Insurance Company of America
The Hyatt Corporation
United Bank of Houston
Aurobora Press, San Francisco
McDonalds Corporation