Al Held American, 1928-2005

Overview

Al Held is an artist who defies neat categorizations. Part of the second wave of Abstract Expressionist artists in New York, Held’s different styles of painting throughout his career have been alternatively referred to as “Abstract Expressionist-inspired,” “hard edge abstraction,” “concrete abstraction,” “Color Field,” “constructivism,” and even “Piranesian Pop.” Perhaps these appellations are all appropriate designations at one time or another because this unique artist never had “just one good idea.” Or perhaps the range of his body of work more accurately reflects the passage of American Art from the iconic 1950’s action paintings through to the more crisp geometric abstraction following. 

Selected Exhibitions

Galerie Huit, Paris, 1952 (solo)

Poindexter Gallery, New York, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962

Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1961, 1966

Jewish Museum, New York, 1963

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, 1964

Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1964

Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980,

                        1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1966 (solo)

San Francisco Museum of Art, California, 1968 (solo)

Documenta, Kassel, West Germany, 1968

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1968

Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1968

Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, 1968

Donald Morris Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1983, 1988

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1974 (solo)

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, 1978

Robert Miller Gallery, New York, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1990, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005

FIAC Foire Internationale d’art contemporain, Grand Palais, Paris, 1981

Pace Editions, 1983

John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, 1986, 1989, 2008

Washburn Gallery, 1989

Hokin Gallery, Florida, 1992

Landau Fine Art, Montreal, Canada, 1993

P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Queens, NY, 2002

University Art Museum at California State University, Long Beach, California, 2008

Ameringer, McEnery, Yohe Gallery, New York, 2001, 2011

Orlando Museum of Art, 2007

Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, 2008

Pace Prints, New York, 2012 (solo)

Cheim and Read, New York, 2013 (solo)

Museums and Public Collections

Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

Dallas Museum of Fine Arts

Empire State Plaza, "Albany Mural", Albany, New York

Solomon Guggenheim Museum, New York

Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland

Jacksonville Public Library mural, Jacksonville, Florida (unfinished at the time of his death)

Federal District Court, Orlando, Florida (stained glass windows unfinished at the time of his death)

Lexington Avenue & 53rd Street Subway Stop, New York (mosaic)

Metropolitan Museum of art, New York

Museum of Modern Art, New York

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

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