Beatrice Mandelman: Works on Paper and Collage

Beatrice Mandelman (1912-1998)

Collage and Works on Paper

Beatrice Mandelman stated that “collage best represents my concern for the stressful, shifting, transitory nature of human experience.” Her works on paper present compositions that never quite hold still, captivating the viewer in a search.

Mandelman had an anxious relationship with her audience, referring to them as “the looker”, she stated, “I expect the looker to bring as much to the painting as I brought.”

Invited into her world, one has to be an active participant while viewing Mandelman’s skillful creations. The thoughtfully framed works presented in this catalogue are placed in shadowboxes, like antiquities or relics, and span several decades of Mandelman’s career in Taos - from the early 1950s until the early 1990s. She was an expert working with paper, forming arresting compositions with textured surfaces. Her sensitivity to the medium is apparent in each piece, with clear mastery over the material.

Mandelman had her own way of seeing, which cultivated clarity for what she not only wanted, but needed, to express.

Along with her Abstract Expressionist contemporaries such as Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, and Perle Fine, Bea helped to pave the way for a new generation of female artists to gain acceptance and respect in the male-dominated world of action painting. She worked constantly, with true dedication to her craft and an unwavering personal vision.

Portrait of Beatrice Mandelman, c. 1950, courtesy of Mildred Tolbert

Untitled (70-AC 4-18), 26 x 20’’, acrylic on paper Image 1

Untitled (70-AC 1-21), 1963, acrylic on paper Image 2

Untitled (60-PR08), c. 1960s, 18 x 14’’, collage with acrylic on canvas Image 3

No. 7 Blue (80-P35), c. 1986, 22.5 x 14’’, acrylic on paper Image 4

Untitled (60-SP 4-42), c. 1960s, 16 x 12’’, collage and acrylic on canvas paper Image 5

Untitled (60-COL 3-01), c. 1960s, 12 x 16’’, acrylic and collage on paper Image 6

Rendezvous #1, 1987, 30 x 22.125’’, acrylic on paper Image 7

Untitled (Lines, Forms, White) (70-COL 1-07(01)), c. 1970, 9.375 x 11.75’’, mixed media collage on paper Image 8

Space Series #8 (60-SP 1-15), c. 1960, 20 x 16’’, collage on cardboard Image 9

Silent Echo II (80-P53), c. 1980, 20.5 x 14’’, acrylic on paper Image 10

Untitled (60-COL 6-29), c. 1960s, 12 x 16’’, collage on paper with gouache Image 11

Morning Flower (50-COL39), 1955, 18 x 22’’, gouache with collage on cardboard Image 12

Untitled (50-COL 3-11), c. 1950s, 19.5 x 23.5’’, acrylic on paper Image 13

Untitled (60-COL 6-16), c. 1960s, 7 x 6.75’’, mixed media collage Image 14

Untitled (70-COL 2-10), c. 1970s, 29 x 21’’, collage and acrylic on paper Image 15

Space Series #29 (60-SP 5-21), 1954, 19.5 x 15.5’’, collage and acrylic on mat board Image 16

Space Series #56 (60-SP 5-22), 1954, 15.75 x 19.75’’, collage and acrylic on mat board Image 17

Unframed Works

Untitled (60-SP 4-22), c. 1960s, 11.5 x 10.25’’, collage and acrylic on paper Image 18

Untitled (70-AC 4-23), c. 1970s, 20 x 26’’, acrylic on paper Image 19

Untitled (70-COL 2-01), c. 1970s, 24 x 17.75’’, mixed media collage on paper Image 20

Untitled Carnival Series (90-C70) Triptych, 11 x 7.5’’ each, 11 x 24’’ overall, acrylic on japanese paper Image 21

Untitled (80-AC 1-09), 36 x 23.25’’, acrylic on paper Image 22

Untitled (60-SP 1-19), c. 1960s, 15.5 x 19.75’’, collage on mat board Image 23

Untitled (70-AC 5-11), c. 1970s, 25 x 20’’, acrylic on paper Image 24

Untitled (70-AC 5-51), c. 1970s, 26.5 x 20’’, pastel and acrylic on paper Image 25

Untitled (70-AC 4-29) , c. 1970s, 36 x 24’’, acrylic on fiber paper Image 26

Untitled (90-AC 1-02), 36.5 x 24.25’’, acrylic on fiber paper Image 27

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