Perle Fine American, 1905-1988

Perle Fine, the lone woman amongst the first generation of Abstract Expressionist artists, is hailed as a passionate and skillful painter whose works encapsulated her devotion to abstraction. Fine is remarkable for her ability to create visual and repeating rhythms with such unlikely components as geometric forms, simple lines, and forms arranged in a grid format as in our example. Over such a linear structure Fine would lay bands of color, often contrasting warm and cool toned hues that can be seen in our Untitled from 1960. This method achieved a certain “equilibrium” and “balance” in her works, a kind of formalism that approached that of Piet Mondrian. With a dedicated focus on the two-dimensional plane, Fine concentrated on the surface of the canvas and its accompanying texture. Her passion for color and for light in our instance results in a triumphant melding of both structure and lyricism.

A central figure in the Abstract Expressionist Movement that coursed through New York City in the 1950’s, Perle Fine was an independent minded, extremely talented artist who committed her life to the pursuit of abstract art. Fine exhibited extensively, participating in several major solo and group shows at such iconic locations as the Art of this Century Gallery, Nierendorf Gallery, the famed Betty Parsons Gallery, and the Tanager Gallery, to name just a few. Fine was one of the few select women invited to join The Club, an intellectual group at the center of the art world at the time and whose members numbered Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning. Fine is both remarkable and remembered for her ability to create visual rhythms with such unlikely components as geometric forms, simple lines, and forms.