The New York Studio School takes great pride in presenting American Cutout and its related website. This exhibition attempts a fresh look at a vibrant period in American art. Beyond an examination of the impact of collage on leading artists of the day, however, this exhibition argues that a specific cutout sensibility crucially informed a sense of autonomous shape and the expressive power of the support.
In historic scope, American Cutout stretches from a weathervane design of the revolutionary era to an unsettling twist on Americana from Kara Walker from 1995, traveling via a paper cutout from the hand of Matisse from 1947. The exhibition concentrates, however, on the three decades that followed the Second World War. Within that period, two artist are the subject of particular focus, Ellsworth Kelly and Alex Katz.
An exhibition of this range and ambition would not have been possible without great generosity and good spirit on the part of many lenders and institutions. In this respect, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the following for loans of their precious works or for help in locating these loans:
Dedalus Foundation, Inc.; Alex Katz; Lisa de Kooning; Ellsworth Kelly; Sarah-Ann & Werner H. Kramarsky; Gallery Schlesinger, New York; Knoedler & Company, New York; Joshua Mack; Matthew Marks Gallery, New York; Pierre & Maria-Gaetana Matisse Foundation; Robert Miller Gallery, New York; PaceWildenstein Gallery, New York; Phillip & Dorothy Pearlstein; Brent Sikkema, New York; Tom Slaughter; Sperone Westwater Gallery, New York; Vered Gallery, East Hampton, New York; Tom Wesselmann.
On November 23 the School will host a symposium on the theme of cutout. We thank in advance the scholars who have agreed to take part in this event, to which we are much looking forward.
Many individuals contributed to the realization of this project. We would like in particular to thank Bob Yucikas for his skillful installation of the show, Bruce Strong for his sensitive design of this website, and Saha Satyakam, Ann Scallon and Emma Zakaravicius for their assistance to the gallery director.
American Cutout was curated by David Cohen who is also responsible for this website.
Graham Nickson
Dean, New York Studio SchoolDavid Cohen
Gallery Director, New York Studio School
