Gerome Kamrowski
Encyclopedia
Gerome Kamrowski was an American
artist
and participant in the Surrealist Movement in the United States.
He was born in Warren, Minnesota
and begun to study art in the early 1930s at the St. Paul School of Art (now Minnesota Museum of American Art - MMAA), and later to the New Bauhaus in Chicago (now Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design). He then moved to New York to study with Hans Hoffman, where he was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s he lived in New York and had been working with surrealist automatism
for several years. Kamrowski became an integral part of the emerging surrealists and collaborated with William Baziotes
, Robert Motherwell
, Jackson Pollock
and Roberto Matta
. This group was the kernel of the open-ended movement that was referred to as abstract surrealism and would over time prove to be the beginnings of abstract expressionism
.
Gerome Kamrowski was one of the few American artists to be included in Peggy Guggenheim
's The Art of This Century Gallery
in 1943. He also had shows at Museum of Modern Art
in New York 1951, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
, and at the Whitney Museum of Modern Art at several occasions. His work can also be seen in the Joe Louis Arena
station of the Detroit People Mover
. He showed his work in the 1947 International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris
. He was invited to the Paris exhibition by surrealist leader Andre Breton. André Breton
would say of him, "Gerome Kamrowski is the one who has impressed me the most by reason of the quality and sustained character of his research."
In 1948 he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan
to teach at the University of Michigan
School of Art. He stayed at the University of Michigan until his retirement 1982. Very few of his students over the next fifty years realized that their teacher was one of the most important artists in America. Gerome Kamrowski worked every single day at his art. He created massive domes of oil on canvas and brought strange, beaded animals to life. His work balances fluid automatism with powerful abstract imagery. The many layers of paint created a visual maze that clearly communicates an intuitive language with the viewer.
His first wife was Maryanna Fargione, with whom he had a son, Felix.
His second wife was Edith Dines and his third wife was Mary Jane Dodman.
He died 2004 in Ann Arbor, MI.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and participant in the Surrealist Movement in the United States.
He was born in Warren, Minnesota
Warren, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,678 people, 699 households, and 432 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,174.1 people per square mile . There were 785 housing units at an average density of 549.3 per square mile...
and begun to study art in the early 1930s at the St. Paul School of Art (now Minnesota Museum of American Art - MMAA), and later to the New Bauhaus in Chicago (now Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design). He then moved to New York to study with Hans Hoffman, where he was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s he lived in New York and had been working with surrealist automatism
Surrealist automatism
Automatism has taken on many forms: the automatic writing and drawing initially practiced by surrealists can be compared to similar, or perhaps parallel phenomena, such as the non-idiomatic improvisation of free jazz....
for several years. Kamrowski became an integral part of the emerging surrealists and collaborated with William Baziotes
William Baziotes
William Baziotes was an American painter influenced by Surrealism and was a contributor to Abstract Expressionism.-Life and career:...
, Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
, Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
and Roberto Matta
Roberto Matta
Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren , better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art....
. This group was the kernel of the open-ended movement that was referred to as abstract surrealism and would over time prove to be the beginnings of abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
.
Gerome Kamrowski was one of the few American artists to be included in Peggy Guggenheim
Peggy Guggenheim
Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim was an American art collector. Born to a wealthy New York City family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with the Titanic in 1912 and the niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who would establish the Solomon R...
's The Art of This Century Gallery
The Art of This Century Gallery
The Art of This Century gallery was opened by Peggy Guggenheim at 30 W. 57th Street in New York City on October 20, 1942. The gallery occupied two commercial spaces on the seventh floor of a building that was part of the midtown arts district including the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of...
in 1943. He also had shows at Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York 1951, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and is part of the...
, and at the Whitney Museum of Modern Art at several occasions. His work can also be seen in the Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena, nicknamed The Joe and JLA is a hockey arena located at 600 Civic Center Drive in Detroit, Michigan. It is the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Completed in 1979 at a cost of $57 million, Joe Louis Arena is named after boxer and former heavyweight...
station of the Detroit People Mover
Detroit People Mover
The Detroit People Mover is a automated people mover system which operates on a single set of tracks, and encircles downtown Detroit, Michigan....
. He showed his work in the 1947 International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He was invited to the Paris exhibition by surrealist leader Andre Breton. André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
would say of him, "Gerome Kamrowski is the one who has impressed me the most by reason of the quality and sustained character of his research."
In 1948 he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
to teach at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
School of Art. He stayed at the University of Michigan until his retirement 1982. Very few of his students over the next fifty years realized that their teacher was one of the most important artists in America. Gerome Kamrowski worked every single day at his art. He created massive domes of oil on canvas and brought strange, beaded animals to life. His work balances fluid automatism with powerful abstract imagery. The many layers of paint created a visual maze that clearly communicates an intuitive language with the viewer.
His first wife was Maryanna Fargione, with whom he had a son, Felix.
His second wife was Edith Dines and his third wife was Mary Jane Dodman.
He died 2004 in Ann Arbor, MI.