Irving Kriesberg

Irving Kriesberg (1919–2009) was an American painter whose work combined elements of Abstract Expressionism with figurative elements of human and animal forms. Kriesberg made his debut with Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko at the 1952 exhibition, Fifteen Artists, at the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Irving Kriesberg was born March 13, 1919 in Chicago, IL Kriesberg's interest in art began in Chicago. In 1941 he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago School, where he received his BFA. Shortly after graduation from the Art Institute of Chicago he traveled to Mexico City. From 1941 until 1944 he studied at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas, Mexico City. He had interest also in cinematography.In 1972 he received his M.A. from New York University.,

Irving Kriesberg held teaching positions in highly regarded academic institutions:

• 1955-1961: Parsons School of Design, New York City
• 1961-1972: Pratt Institute, NY
• 1962-1969:Yale University
• 1969-1972: City University of New York
• 1972-1976: State University, NY
• 1977, 1978: Columbia University

In 1945 Irving Kriesberg moved to New York City and had numerous solo and group exhibitions. His entry into the international art scene came when Dorothy Miller, curator of the Museum of Modern Art included Kriesberg in the landmark 1952 exhibition 15 AMERICANS at MoMA. 15 AMERICANS exhibition included Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko, and others.

Kriesberg canvas featured in Tashilham

• 1946 The Art Institute of Chicago (First public exhibition; 2 person show)
• 1954: St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO; The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI;
• 1955: Curt Valentin Gallery, NYC;
• 1962: Graham Gallery, NYC;
• 1966: Kumar Gallery, Delhi, India;
• 1967: Yale University, New Haven, CT;
• 1978, 80, 82: Terry Dintenfass, Inc., NYC;
• 1979: Fairweather–Hardin Gallery, Chicago, IL;
• 1980, 81: Brandeis University, Waltham, MA;
• 1980: Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; Galerie Elizabeth, Chicago, IL;
• 1981: Fiedler Gallery, Washington, D.C.;
• 1981, 83: Jack Gallery, NYC;
• 1982: Washington University, St. Louis, MO; Zenith Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA;
• 1985, 87: Graham Modern Gallery, NYC;
• 1990: Scheele Gallery, Cleveland, OH;
• 1992, 94: Katherina Rich Perlow Gallery, NYC;
• 1996, 2005: Peter Findlay Gallery, NYC;
• 2005, 08: Lori Bookstein Fine Art, NYC.

Retrospective:

• 1962: Jewish Museum, New York City.
• 2012: Longview Museum of Fine Art, Longview, Texas

• 1946: The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois;
• 1952: “New Talent”, Museum of Modern Art, NYC; “15 Americans”, circ., Museum of Modern Art, NYC;
• 1953: The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI;
• 1953: Curt Valentin Gallery, NYC;
• 1954: St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO;
• 1968: ”Directions I: Options”, circ;, Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, WI;
• 1972: “Ten Independents”, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC.

Kriesberg has received two Ford Foundation grants, two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Awards, a National Endowment for the Arts Award, a Fulbright Fellowship, and the Guggenheim Foundation Memorial Award. In 1992 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1994.

Irving Kriesberg's paintings are held in the permanent collection of over 74 American art museums including The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Corcoran Gallery, The Brooklyn Museum, The Detroit Museum of Art, The Kresge Art Museum, The National Gallery, The Butler Institute of American Art, The Birmingham Museum of Art, The Jewish Museum, The University of Michigan Museum of Art, The Dayton Art Institute, The Allentown Art Museum, The Boca Raton Museum of Art, The Rose Art Museum, The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, The Scottsdale MoCA, The Crocker Art Museum.

Irving Kriesberg died in New York City on November 11, 2009 at age 90.

• Dorothy Canning Miller, 15 Americans (New York, Museum of Modern Art, 1952.) p. 36-37
• Irving Kriesberg, Looking at pictures, a guide to intelligent appreciation ([Chicago] Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults, 1955.)
• Irving Kriesberg, Working with color : a manual for painters (New York : Prentice Hall, ©1986.) ISBN 0-442-01303-5
• Marika Herskovic, American Abstract and Figurative Expressionism Style Is Timely Art Is Timeless (New York School Press, 2009.) ISBN 978-0-9677994-2-1. p. 148-151

• Irving Kriesberg on Askart