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Featured Works

Featured Works Thumbnails
Where the Swan Flies (Loop System No. 1), 1974

Where the Swan Flies (Loop System No. 1), 1974
Acrylic on masonite
72 1/8 x 48 3/16 inches

Summit Ridge Drive No. 2, 1980-81

Summit Ridge Drive No. 2, 1980-81
Acrylic with collage and tape on canvas
75 x 83 3/4 inches

Untitled (Reflections of Africa series), 1989

Untitled (Reflections of Africa series), 1989
Graphite on paper
13 3/4 x 11 inches

Untitled, 1987

Untitled, 1987
Graphite, pastel, oil pencil, and tempera on rag board
11 x 14 inches

Untitled (Architecture series), 1982

Untitled (Architecture series), 1982
Oil pastel and graphite on paper
8 3/8 x 6 3/8 inches, image. 14 x 11 inches, sheet

Reflections of Africa No. 8, 1989

Reflections of Africa No. 8, 1989
Charcoal and graphite on paper
11 9/16 x 17 1/16 inches

Untitled (Tripod series), 1975

Untitled (Tripod series), 1975
Acrylic, graphite, and grease pencil with collage and tape on torn paper over vellum and black paper
23 1/4 x 19 5/8 inches

Minnie No. 1 (Two Flying Shapes), 1980

Minnie No. 1 (Two Flying Shapes), 1980
Graphite on paper
11 x 13 3/4 inches

Untitled, 1987

Untitled, 1987
Acrylic and oil pastel on paper
13 x 11 inches

Untitled (Clubbing series), 1988

Untitled (Clubbing series), 1988
Charcoal and acrylic on paper
16 1/16 x 20 1/16 inches

Untitled (9H Pencil series), 1981

Untitled (9H Pencil series), 1981
Graphite on paper
13 3/4 x 11 inches

Untitled (9H Pencil series), 1981

Untitled (9H Pencil series), 1981
Graphite on paper
11 x 13 7/8 inches

Untitled, 1972

Untitled, 1972
Gelatin silver print
7 7/16 x 8 5/8 inches

Untitled, c. 1974-75

Untitled, c. 1974-75
Gelatin silver print
4 3/8 x 6 3/8 inches

Untitled, 1971

Untitled, 1971
Gelatin silver print
7 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches
 

Untitled (Hawaiian Bridge), 1986

Untitled (Hawaiian Bridge), 1986
Graphite and oil pastel on paper
11 x 14 inches

Untitled (Tail Light), 1986

Untitled (Tail Light), 1986
Oil pastel and graphite on paper
10 7/8 x 14 inches

Untitled (Eternal Triangle series), 1980

Untitled (Eternal Triangle series), 1980
Graphite and acrylic on paper
22 1/2 x 30 inches

Untitled (Reflections of Africa series), 1989

Untitled (Reflections of Africa series), 1989
Graphite on paper
11 x 13 13/16 inches

Reflections of Africa No. 8, 1989

Reflections of Africa No. 8, 1989
Charcoal and graphite on paper
11 9/16 x 17 1/16 inches

Alabama Hills No. 12, 1986

Alabama Hills No. 12, 1986
Oil on linen
11 x 13 inches

Where the Swan Flies (Loop System No. 1), 1974

Where the Swan Flies (Loop System No. 1), 1974
Acrylic on masonite
72 1/8 x 48 3/16 inches

Summit Ridge Drive No. 2, 1980-81

Summit Ridge Drive No. 2, 1980-81
Acrylic with collage and tape on canvas
75 x 83 3/4 inches

Untitled (Reflections of Africa series), 1989

Untitled (Reflections of Africa series), 1989
Graphite on paper
13 3/4 x 11 inches

Untitled, 1987

Untitled, 1987
Graphite, pastel, oil pencil, and tempera on rag board
11 x 14 inches

Untitled (Architecture series), 1982

Untitled (Architecture series), 1982
Oil pastel and graphite on paper
8 3/8 x 6 3/8 inches, image. 14 x 11 inches, sheet

Reflections of Africa No. 8, 1989

Reflections of Africa No. 8, 1989
Charcoal and graphite on paper
11 9/16 x 17 1/16 inches

Untitled (Tripod series), 1975

Untitled (Tripod series), 1975
Acrylic, graphite, and grease pencil with collage and tape on torn paper over vellum and black paper
23 1/4 x 19 5/8 inches

Minnie No. 1 (Two Flying Shapes), 1980

Minnie No. 1 (Two Flying Shapes), 1980
Graphite on paper
11 x 13 3/4 inches

Untitled, 1987

Untitled, 1987
Acrylic and oil pastel on paper
13 x 11 inches

Untitled (Clubbing series), 1988

Untitled (Clubbing series), 1988
Charcoal and acrylic on paper
16 1/16 x 20 1/16 inches

Untitled (9H Pencil series), 1981

Untitled (9H Pencil series), 1981
Graphite on paper
13 3/4 x 11 inches

Untitled (9H Pencil series), 1981

Untitled (9H Pencil series), 1981
Graphite on paper
11 x 13 7/8 inches

Untitled, 1972

Untitled, 1972
Gelatin silver print
7 7/16 x 8 5/8 inches

Untitled, c. 1974-75

Untitled, c. 1974-75
Gelatin silver print
4 3/8 x 6 3/8 inches

Untitled, 1971

Untitled, 1971
Gelatin silver print
7 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches
 

Untitled (Hawaiian Bridge), 1986

Untitled (Hawaiian Bridge), 1986
Graphite and oil pastel on paper
11 x 14 inches

Untitled (Tail Light), 1986

Untitled (Tail Light), 1986
Oil pastel and graphite on paper
10 7/8 x 14 inches

Untitled (Eternal Triangle series), 1980

Untitled (Eternal Triangle series), 1980
Graphite and acrylic on paper
22 1/2 x 30 inches

Untitled (Reflections of Africa series), 1989

Untitled (Reflections of Africa series), 1989
Graphite on paper
11 x 13 13/16 inches

Reflections of Africa No. 8, 1989

Reflections of Africa No. 8, 1989
Charcoal and graphite on paper
11 9/16 x 17 1/16 inches

Alabama Hills No. 12, 1986

Alabama Hills No. 12, 1986
Oil on linen
11 x 13 inches

Installation Views

Installation Views Thumbnails
Installation view of Jay DeFeo Into Other Worlds​​​​​​​, 2023

Installation view of Jay DeFeo Into Other Worlds, 2023

Installation view of Jay DeFeo Into Other Worlds​​​​​​​, 2023

Installation view of Jay DeFeo Into Other Worlds, 2023

Installation view of Jay DeFeo Into Other Worlds​​​​​​​, 2023

Installation view of Jay DeFeo Into Other Worlds, 2023

Installation view of Jay DeFeo Into Other Worlds​​​​​​​, 2023
Installation view of Jay DeFeo Into Other Worlds​​​​​​​, 2023
Installation view of Jay DeFeo Into Other Worlds​​​​​​​, 2023

Press Release

Marc Selwyn Fine Art is pleased to present Jay DeFeo: Into Other Worlds, the gallery’s fourth exhibition of the legendary artist’s work. Known as a key figure in the Bay Area Beat Culture of the 1950’s and a pioneer in the Abstract Expressionist movement, DeFeo (1929-1989) continues to inspire generations of artists with her astonishingly diverse and innovative range of works.

This exhibition explores a recurring and central theme in the artist’s oeuvre—the power of a work of art to function as a window or portal, transporting the viewer into the mystery of other worlds.  As DeFeo has written:  “Entrances into my artworks have always been a way of getting away from everything we are confined to in an earthly form.”

The genesis for these “entrances” has often been a common object or fragment from the artist’s quotidian environment. In Untitled (Reflections of Africa series), 1989, the circular opening in a tissue box becomes an enigmatic portal allowing the viewer to peer into the vessel. In Where the Swan Flies (Loop System No. 1), 1974, the artist finds beauty and inspiration in the form of a broken cup handle, inviting the viewer to enter its black central void. David Pagel, whose essay is contained in a catalogue published concurrently with the exhibition, states: “Those seemingly empty spaces draw viewers to them with something like magnetic forcefulness or the tug of gravity… Like gaps in time and space, the voids in DeFeo’s works interrupt business as usual and complicate our relationship to our surroundings by sharpening our perceptions and stimulating a kind of attentiveness that is laced with anxiety and all the more exciting for it.”

This exhibition contains a rich and diverse array of media, reflecting an experimentation with surface and materials that runs throughout the artist’s career. A silver gelatin photograph Untitled (Cabbage Rose), c. 1974-75, for example, draws the viewer into a black vortex formed by a leaf. Two rare large-scale canvases complement a series of graphite drawings, collages, small oil paintings, and paintings on paper that highlight a wide array of material exploration. 

A conversation about the exhibition between curator Helen Molesworth and art critic David Pagel took place in the gallery on February 5th.

DeFeo’s art is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the British Museum, London, the Centre Pompidou, Paris, The Menil Collection, Houston, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among many others. DeFeo’s works can also be seen in Los Angeles in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (where The Jewel is on permanent view), the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, the Norton Simon Museum, UCLA’s Hammer Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

In 2013, the Whitney Museum of American Art, where The Rose, 1958-1966 is currently on view, presented Jay DeFeo: A Retrospective, featuring more than 150 seminal works by the artist.

 

 

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