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Born in Brooklyn in 1934, Selina Trieff studied at the Art Students League in
New York in 1951 with Morris Kantor, at Brooklyn College from 1951 to 1955 with
Ad Reinhardt and Mark Rothko, and in 1955 with Hans Hoffman. The pensive, introspective,
character of Trieff’s work, its spirituality and its iconic format have
all been attributed to the influence of abstract painter Mark Rothko. Of her
early experience at Brooklyn College the artist has said “From Reinhardt
and Rothko I learned that art ia a philosophical exploration and that art making
involves a mysterious process of self-discovery.”
“Committed throughout her life to richly painted, figurative imagery, Selina
Trieff is among the most extraordinary, through too little known artists of her
generation. While she draws from a model on a weekly basis and regularly depicts
highly expressive human and animal subjects in her paintings, Selina thinks of
herself as an abstract artist. For her, a painting’s abstract compositional
elements are of paramount importance.
Throughout her over forty-year career, Selina Trieff has painted herself, her
family and her friends in a highly generalized, abstract format. More than they
are portraits of specific individuals, these paintings in their abstraction represent
archetypes—images of Everyman and Everywoman—and in their generalization,
the specific becomes universal.
There is an opulent theatricality to much of Selina’s work. Often her figures
seem perfectly placed on a stage poised to enact the most poignant moment in
a complex human drama. …both inviting and defying the viewer to enter the
world depicted.”
Excerpts from retrospective catalogue
Text by Harold B. Nelson
Director. Long Beach Museum of Art
Born 1934 Brooklyn, New York
Education 1955 B.A., Brooklyn College, studied with Mark
Rothko and Ad Reinhardt
1954-1956 Studied with Hans Hofmann in New York and Province-Town,
Massachusetts
1951-1953 The Art Students League, studied with Morris Kantor
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1997 Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, MA
Katharina
Rich Perlow Gallery, New York, NY
1996 Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Ruth Bachofner
Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1994 Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery, New York, NY
Ruth Bachofner
Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1993 Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown,MA
Katharina Rich Perlow
Gallery, New York, NY
1992 Suffolk County Community College, Long Island, NY
1991 Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Berta Walker
Gallery, Provincetown, MA
Galleri Cassandra, Drobak, Norway
Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery, New York, NY
1990 Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Marshall University, W.VA
Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1989 Galleri Cassandra, Drobak, Norway
Hell’s Kitchen Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1988 Graham Modern Gallery, New York, NY
Hell’s Kitchen Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1987 Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Graham Modern Gallery, New York, NY
Hell’s Kitchen Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1986 Graham Modern Gallery, New York, NY
Hell’s Kitchen Gallery, Provincetown, MA
Artes Galleri, Oslo, Norway
1984 Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY
Galleri Cassandra, Drobak, Norway
Artes Galleri, Oslo, Norway
On the Vineyard Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1983 Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
1982 On the Vineyard Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
Manhattan College, Purchase, NY
Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY
1981 Provincetown Group Gallery, Provincetown, MA
On the Vineyard Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1980 Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY
Provincetown Group Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1979 Provincetown Group Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1978 Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY
Indianapolis Art League, Indianapolis, IN
Galleri Anna, Goteborg, Sweden
1976 Riverrun Gallery, Edgartown, MA
Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY
1975 Riverrun Gallery, Edgartown, MA
1974 Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY
1973 Riverrun Gallery, Edgartown, MA
1972 Riverrun Gallery, Edgartown, MA
1965 Area Gallery, New York, NY
1963 Sun Valley, Provincetown, MA
1962 Sun Valley, Provincetown, MA
Area Gallery, New York, NY
1961 Area Gallery, New York, NY
1960 Nonogon Gallery, New York, NY
Selected Bibliography
Brenson, Michael. “Selina Trieff at Graham Gallery.” The New York
Times, June 12, 1987.
Campbell, Lawrence. “Selina Trieff at Graham Modern.” Art in America,
December 1986, p.139-140
Henry, Gerrit. “Selina Trieff at Katharina Rich Perlow.” Art News, November 1991
Kandal, Susan. “Alluring Images.” Los Angeles Times, December 19, 1991
Kingsley, April. “Women Choose Women,” Artforum, March 1973, pp.69-73
Kinsley, April. Emotional Impact: New York School
Figurative Expressionism. San Francisco: The Art
Museum Association of America, 1984
Marter, Joan. “Confrontations: The Paintings of Selina Trieff.” Arts Magazine, June 1986, pp.51-53
Mullarkey, Maureen. “Selina Trieff.” Arts Magazine, May 1984, p.8
Nickisher, Heidi. “Selina Trieff.” Artsweek, January 9, 1992, pp.14-15
Raynor, Vivian. ”Nature of the Beast.” The New York Times, April 2, 1989.
Raynor, Vivian. “Trieff at Graham Modern.” The New York Times, May 23, 1986.
Robins, Corinne. “Selina Trieff.” Arts Magazine, April 1978,p.9.
Turner, Nancy Kay. “Paint as Subject and Description: Selina Trieff
At Ruth Bachofner Gallery.” Artweek, March 8, 1990, pp.13-14
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