Allison Kunath Art

Roland Ayers (1932-2017). Untitled, 1983. Ink on paper, measures 17 x 23 inches. Unframed and unmounted. Signed and dated lower left. Ayers holds the distinction of having participated in the first important survey of African-Americans, Contemporary Black Artists in America, a 1971 show at The Whitney. Biography: Artist and art educator, Roland Ayers was born on July 2, 1932, the only child of Alice and Lorenzo Ayers, and grew up in the Germantown district of Philadelphia. Ayers served in the US Army (stationed in Germany) before studying at the Philadelphia College of Art (currently University of the Arts). He graduated with a BFA in Art Education, 1954. He traveled Europe 1966-67, spending time in Amsterdam and Greece in particular. During this period, he drifted away from painting to focus on linear figurative drawings of a surreal nature. His return home inaugurated the artist’s most prolific and inspired period (1968-1975). Shorty before his second major trip abroad in 1971-72 to West Africa, Ayers began to focus on African themes, and African American figures populated his work almost exclusively. In spite of Ayers’ travel and exploration of the world, he gravitated back to his beloved Germantown, a place he endowed with mythological qualities in his work and literature. His auto-biographical writing focuses on the importance of place during his childhood. Ayers’ journals meticulously document the ethnic and cultural make-up of Germantown, and tell a compelling story of class marginalization that brought together poor families despite racial differences. The distinctive look and design of Germantown inform Ayers’ visual vocabulary. It is a setting with distinctive Gothic Revival architecture and haunting natural beauty. These characteristics are translated and recur in the artist’s imagery. During his childhood, one of the only books in the Ayers household was an illustrated Bible. The images within had a profound effect on the themes and subjects that would appear in his adult work. Figures in an Ayers’ drawing often seem trapped in a narrative of loss and redemption. Powerful women loom large in the drawings: they suggest the female role models his journals record in early life. The drawings can sometimes convey a strong sense of conflict, and at other times, harmony. Nature and architecture seem to have an antagonistic relationship that is, ironically, symbiotic. A critical turning point in the artist’s career came in 1971 when he was included in the extremely controversial Whitney Museum show, Contemporary Black Artists in America. The exhibition gave Ayers an international audience and served as a calling card for introductions he would soon make in Europe. Ayers is a particularly compelling figure in a period when black artists struggled with the idea of authenticity. A questioned often asked was “Is your work too black, or not black enough?” Abstractionists were considered by some peers to be sell-outs, frauds or worse. Figurative* work was accused of being either sentimental or politically radical depending on the critical source. Ayers made the choice early on to be a figurative artist, but considered his work devoid of political content. Organizations such as Chicago’ s Afri-Cobra in the late 1960‘s asserted that the only true black art of any relevance must depict the black man and woman...

Holds the people together, 2022 by On Hansen Oil wax, acrylic, graphite, organic ink, and crayon on Awagami paper Image size: 35.03 in. H x 25.59 in. W Unfr...

This series of works by the Danish artist Peter Kramer (Roskilde, 1959) with numerous exhibitions between Spain and Denmark are entitled "365 urns", in wh...

む, Now, where was I and Surōdansu triptych, 2022 by On Hansen Oil wax, acrylic, graphite, organic ink, and crayon on Awagami paper Overall size: 35.03 in. H x 76.7 in. W Individual s...

Now, where was I? 2022 by On Hansen Oil wax, acrylic, graphite, organic ink, and crayon on Awagami paper Image size: 35.03 in. H x 25.59 in. W Unframed ___...

Interior design paintings. The artwork were done with acrylic, ink and watercolor in bronze and deep blue color on watercolor paper 300g. The work are 11 by 15 inches in size, framed...

The promise of Change, 2022 by On Hansen Oil wax, acrylic, graphite, organic ink, and crayon on Awagami paper Image size: 35.03 in. H x 25.59 in. W Unique Unframed ________________...

Countably Infinite, 2022 by On Hansen Oil wax, acrylic, graphite, organic ink, and crayon on Awagami paper Image size: 35.03 in. H x 25.59 in. W Unframed ____________________________ On Hansen originally from Scandinavia is the pseudonym used by the photographer Cristian Hunter, a third-generation artist who has spent most of his professional career as a photographer. His work bears the traces of lived experiences, exploring the possibilities of formal abstraction, and seeking an organic experience between space and time through painting and photography. “There is no longer a single idea explaining everything, but an infinite number of essences giving meaning to an infinite number of objects. The world comes to a stop, but also lights up.” ― Albert Camus...

The new arises from memory and The Promise to Change Diptych, 2022 Oil wax, acrylic, graphite, organic ink, and crayon on Awagami paper Overall size: 35.03 in. H x 51 in. W Individu...

This series of works by the Danish artist Peter Kramer (Roskilde, 1959) with numerous exhibitions between Spain and Denmark are entitled "365 urns", in which the artist works with ti...

Yappanoise 47 (Abstract work on paper) Ink, enamel on paper - Unframed This work is part of one of 4 on-going series of large works on paper. T...

Interior design paintings. The works were done with india ink in beige, black and white color on Yupo paper. The works are 11 by 14 inches in size, framed black or gold with a styren...