Spend just a few minutes with Sidney Guberman and you realize you’re in the presence of genius. At 80 years old he moves slowly. Gone is the physical prowess that once graced the tennis courts or hammered out a Boston Marathon. No longer will he fly across the world meeting curators, dealers and colleagues in Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, London, Boston, New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Georgia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. But while his body may have weakened, his mind hasn’t lost a step. He has an easy way about him, and makes you feel immediately like a good friend. He answers queries with remarkable rapidity and fluency. He recounts with incredible clarity events that transpired 50 years ago. But perhaps most awe-inspiring is his perceptual acuity – his ability to see, feel, interpret and reveal the often ethereal nature of abstract expressionism. Sidney Guberman was born in 1936 and showed artistic talent from an early age. As a youth he was given instruction by Colorado Springs artist Lew Tilley, and in 1948 he began to study drawing and painting with Jean Charlot at the Fountain Valley School. From there he went to Phillips Exeter Academy, graduating in 1954 with the John Larkin, Jr. Memorial Prize for Painting. Guberman then went to Princeton, where at that time there were no courses in painting. He continued to work on his own, however, producing drawings and small collages. In 1956, Princeton initiated its artist-in-residence program with artist Stephen Greene. “In 1956 I made a series of enormous drawings with India ink. One afternoon when I returned from hockey practice all of the drawings were gone! It seems my friend Frank Stella had come looking for me, had seen the drawings, and had taken them to Stephen Green. They were used as evidence that I should be let into Steve’s newlycreated painting course. I was let in.”
Frank Stella is now a longtime friend whom Guberman described as his “magnetic north” as a young painter. Today Guberman is recognized as an authority on Stella’s work, and is author of Frank Stella: An Illustrated Biography. Through the early sixties Guberman did “occasional pictures,” though architecture was his paramount professional concern. He earned his Masters Degree in Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and went to work for the architecture firm of Vincent Kling. By 1968, art and architecture had evolved into mutual conflict for
Stella sporting his Guberman t-shirt
Guberman, and a choice was made. He chose art. “Leaving architecture was easy. That is, I wanted to paint all the time. I already had three commissions because of architects coming to the studio to see the work and really loving it.” Frank Stella, Sidney Guberman, 1972, lithograph
The rest, as they say, is history. Since 1969, Guberman has been creating painting, sculpture and prints. He has had over 60 one-person exhibitions in the US and Europe, and participated in another 10 group exhibitions. He has taught painting, drawing, basic design and color theory in Switzerland and in the US, including The Ecole des Beaux Arts, Lausanne (1971-73), Ecole Polytechnique Federale (1973-1975), Princeton University (1980-1981), University of South Carolina (1990) and the Atlanta College of Art (1990). He received an individual grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1980 and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1988. Today Guberman’s work can be found in private collections and public institutions all over the world, including The Smithsonian Museum of American Art, The High Museum, The Hunter Museum and the Gibbes Museum.
Guberman and Stella
Ken Tyler and Guberman
You can’t attach a label to the work of Sidney Thomas Guberman, although almost everyone – from the severest art critic to the most casual observer – has tried. Carry it a step further. There isn’t any specific category into which you can comfortably fit the artist. Again people try. Call Guberman’s work abstractionist, or colorist, Call Guberman himself a draftsman or an architectural graduate. You’re getting all around the target, but not hitting it. Sidney describes his work as non-representational in the strictest, most literal sense: “My work is not intended to refer to anything but itself.” He compares his abstractions to Bach’s secular compositions: self-supporting harmonies without historic or personal reference. Symmetry is key to the manipulation of geometric shapes in Sidney’s work: “I am big on symmetry – real or imagined. There is nothing which cannot be made symmetrical by doubling it. Sit down, take the stub of a crayon, shut your eyes, and scribble. Hold up a mirror and, suddenly, you have symmetry.” Over the course of his career, Sidney has produced several series (although he may not call them that) which have resulted in apparent varying styles. Seen through the lens of symmetry, however, these seemingly diverse styles meld back into one. From hard-edge abstract expressionist prints, to broken targets, to black forms, to ovals, they all possess a balance, symmetry and harmony not seen in many – or perhaps most – abstract expressionist works. Sidney estimates that he has created over 2,000 works in his lifetime. Of those, few have found their way to the secondary auction market. It is an incredible testament to the value and appreciation placed on his works by their owners. Today, only a handful of paintings, works on paper and prints remain in Guberman’s studio. These works are among his best, held back by the artist. They are now available for purchase. Kendall Art Advisory is honored and delighted to present the exhibition and sale of the works of Sidney Guberman.
Pike’s Reward II 2011 acrylic on canvas 44 x 60 inches
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St. Vrain 2011 acrylic on canvas 45 x 33 inches
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Bijoux I 2008 acrylic on canvas 70 x 45 inches
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Bijoux II 2008 acrylic on canvas 70 x 45 inches
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St. Vrain 2007 acrylic on canvas 60 x 60 inches
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Sheridan 2007 acrylic on canvas 64 x 64 inches
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Red Poncho 2008 acrylic on canvas 75 x 120 inches
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Bayou Manzant 2006 acrylic on canvas 30 x 22 inches
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Broken Target XLIII 1991 acrylic on canvas 48 x 48 inches
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This is the only remaining work from the coveted Broken Target series.
You Touched Me 1989 acrylic on canvas 45 x 33 inches
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The Witch a la Mode 1989 acrylic on canvas 45 x 33 inches
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My Way 1988 acrylic on canvas 120 x 75 inches kendallfineart@gmail.com
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West Broadway 1988 acrylic on canvas 80 x 64 inches kendallfineart@gmail.com
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Blue Moon in Brodo 1988 acrylic on canvas 64 x 44 inches
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Blue Minus One 1987-88 acrylic on canvas 64 x 44 inches
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Grappling in the Central Blue 1987 acrylic on canvas 64 x 44 inches
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The Horse Dealer’s Daughter 1987 acrylic on canvas 45 x 33 inches
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Blue Monday 1986 acrylic on canvas 64 x 44 inches
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Skylark 1984-5 acrylic on canvas 80 x 64 inches
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Naas Road 1985 acrylic on canvas 60 x 44 inches
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Chapelizod 1985 acrylic on canvas 64 x 44 inches
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Dublin I 1985 acrylic on canvas 64 x 44 inches
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Kildare Street 1985 acrylic on canvas 60 x 44 inches
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Dublin II 1985 acrylic on canvas 60 x 44 inches
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Babylon Revisited date? acrylic on canvas 60 x 44 inches
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A Stroke of Good Fortune 1984 acrylic on canvas 80 x 64 inches
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Have You Met Miss Jones? 1984 acrylic on canvas 44 x 60 inches
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Blue Relics 1977 acrylic on canvas 80 x 78 inches
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La Métarie 1975 acrylic on canvas 24 ¾ x 37 ½ inches
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1969 1970 1970 1970 1970 1971 1972 1973 1973 1973 1973 1973 1974 1974 1974 1975 1975 1975 1976 1976 1977 1978 1979 1979 1979 1980 1980 1981 1982 1982 1983 1984 1985 1985 1985 1986 1988 1988 1988 1989 1989 1989 1991 1992 1993
Owen Gallery; Denver, Colorado Lamont Gallery; Exeter, New Hampshire Marian Locks Gallery; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Henri Gallery; Washington, D.C. The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center; Colorado Galerie Historial; Nyon, Suisse Galerie Sincron; Brescia, Italia Salle Crosnier; Geneve, Suisse Henri Gallery; Washington, D.C. Galerie B.C.C.L.; Saint-Cergue, Suisse Galerie des Arts; Lausanne, Suisse Ars Studio; Aarhus, Denmark Galerie Aleph; Geneve, Suisse Galerie B.C.C.L.; St.Cergue, Suisse Galerie du Club 44; La Chaux-de-Fonds, Suisse Galerie du Gibus Rouge; Lausanne, Suisse Galerie RB; Fribourg, Suisse Henri Gallery; Washington, D.C. Image South Gallery; Atlanta, Georgia Harcus/Krakow; Boston, Massachusetts Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC Fraser’s Stable Gallery, Washington, D.C. Galerie RB, Fribourg, Suisse Heath Gallery, Atlanta, GA Leah Levy, San Francisco, CA Diane Brown Gallery, Washington, D.C. Galerie Jonas, Neuchatel, Suisse Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia Barbara Fiedler Gallery, Washington, D.C. Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey SECCA, Winston-Salem, North Carolina Gertrude Herbert Gallery, Augusta, Georgia Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia The Atchison Gallery, Birmingham, Alabama The Signature Shop Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia Mc Kissick Museum, Columbia, South Carolina Gibbes Art Gallery, Charleston, South Carolina Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, Madison, Georgia Albany Museum of Art, Albany, Georgia Hodges Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina Ruine Galerie, Geneve, Suisse McIntosh Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia Hodges Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey
1995 1996 1998 1999 1999 2003 2003-06 2006 2007 2008 2011
Image Gallery, Augusta, Georgia Lecture: A Forty-Year Friendship – Reflections on the Life and Art of Frank Stella, Kunstmuseum, Basel, Suisse Century Association Gallery, New York City Art Gallery of Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia A l’atelier Stephane Brunner, Geneve GS Automatisation SA, Plan-les-Ouates, Geneve Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia Galerie Favre, Nyon, Suisse Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS 1969 1969 1970 1971 1971 1972 1972 1974 1974 1974 1976 1977 1979 1980 1983 1983-86 1985 1986 2005 2013 2014 2015
Vanderlip Gallery, Philadelphia Fleischer Art Memorial, Philadelphia Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia 470 Parker Street, Boston Young Philadelphia Artists – Philadelphia Art Alliance Centennial Exhibition – Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Henri Gallery, Washington, D.C. Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia Prix de peinture 1974, Musee Jenisch, Vevey, Suisse Four Americans, Galerie Yvy, Geneve, Suisse Harcus/Karkow/Rosen/Sonnabend, Boston, MA William Seitz Memorial Exhibition, Princeton University Museum, Princeton, NJ Middendorf-Lane Gallery, Washington, D.C. Artists in Georgia National Small Sculpture Monumental Sculpture Southeast: Four Museums: Jackson, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Orlando Ten Years of the Visual Arts at Princeton: The Faculty, 1975-1985, Princeton, NJ Sculpture Tour – University of Tennessee Campus, Knoxville, Tennessee Schnittstelle, Aus der Sammlung Erwin Oberwiler The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (GA-MOCA), Atlanta, GA Gallery West, Columbia, SC The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (GA-MOCA), Atlanta, GA
AWARDS/GRANTS 1977 1980 1980 1988 1988
Ossabow Island Fellowship, Ossabow Island, GA City of Atlanta Artist Grant, Atlanta, GA National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Grant John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, Creative Arts Hambidge Center Fellowship, Rabun Gap, GA
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