GalleryViews / Midtown

 Esteban Vincente at Ameringer-Yohe Fine
 Arts, 20 West 57th Street to March 25th

Originally from Spain where he was born in 1903, Esteban Vincente immersed himself as a young man in the artistic culture of Paris (where he met Picasso), London and Barcelona.  In 1936 he moved to New York and in 1947 became a member of the New York School.  He was a contemporary of de Kooning (whom he shared a studio with at one point), Pollock and Rothko among many others.  His last exhibition at this gallery, Esteban Vincente, A Memorial Retrospective, in January 2002 was reviewed on these pages.  Vincente died in 2001.

The paintings in this show represent a concentrated group ranging from the late 50s to the early 60s and so make for a more cohesive statement when compared with the memorial retrospective show.  It�s also interesting to note how much more so this work embodies an individual style unlike the paintings in the retrospective which clearly showed the influence of de Kooning and Rothko. The two driving forces for that style are his application of color and his uniquely stylized forms.

Esteban Vicente Untitled, 1959, oil on canvas, 52 X 72 in

The combined color is at once bright and intense but also muted and earthy.  The proportionate use of these two aspects varies from one piece to another but neither is ever completely excluded. Compare the Untitled from 1959 with Number 3 from 1961. Notice how the former more evenly blends intensely colored forms with the earth tones. In Number 3 the brightly colored shapes are concentrated and isolated in the center of the canvas by the softly muted greens and grays.

Esteban Vicente Installation View

From a distance the color throughout this work appears to be flattened evenly into the forms. But take a look at the details and you see with what care Vincente constructs his color through his paint handling.

Esteban Vicente Number 3, 1961, oil on canvas, 60 X 48 in

The forms in this work interlock each other like pieces of a puzzle to create an interesting effect on the overall space as assisted by the color.  They push and pull inward and outward against each other to set visual space into motion. This also brings into play an irresolute figure/ground reversal. At the same time the forms reach for, without quite achieving, a sense of volumetric space. What prevents the completion is the near

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