Robert Kipniss's Atmospheric Canvases
The New York painter's subdued still life and landscape works
A selection of five works by Kipniss on offer at Freeman's May 11.
04/22/2022 Latest News, News and Film, Modern and Contemporary Art
Robert Kipniss began his 71-year-long career as a poet before shifting his focus toward oil painting, and later printmaking. A New York native, Kipniss has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career, and has had several monographs and catalogues raisonnés dedicated to his productive oeuvre.
Lot 20 | Robert Kipniss, Afternoon Shadows | $3,000-5,000
Kipniss’s works presented in Freeman’s May 11 Modern and Contemporary Art auction are representative of the artist’s moody, bold style, which has earned him international renown and respect.
Lot 22 | Robert Kipniss, Houses on a Hillside | $4,000-6,000
Lot 23 | Robert Kipniss, Road to the River | $5,000-8,000
Almost all paintings offered here feature the quintessential tortuous trees—sometimes bare, sometimes blowing away—set against a monochrome landscape. One can often spot a house or a hamlet nestled in between the hills in the distance; this hauntingly serene detail is keenly exemplified in Road to the River, Houses on a Hillside, Breezes, and Afternoon Shadows.
Lot 21 | Robert Kipniss, Still Life with Eye Glasses | $2,000-3,000
Occasionally, the bare exterior of those houses can be seen through the lens of a closed window, which transforms the piece into an evocative, moving still life. Still Life with Eye Glasses is one such example where the artist employs his signature subdued colors and loose brushwork to an interior scene, while still conveying the same quiet solitude of his outdoor paintings. The works are all devoid of any human form, reduced to the minimum in order to convey a sentiment of isolation and introspection.
Lot 19 | Robert Kipniss, Breezes | $3,000-5,000
The restrained color palette and fuzzy technique found in Kipniss’s works contribute to an overall atmospheric effect, which reflects the artist’s mixed feelings of awe and anxiety toward nature and self—a “twilight zone between recollection and imagination,” as explained by a Time magazine review of the artist’s 1966 solo show.
View the rest of our May 11 Modern and Contemporary Art auction.
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