Albert Kresch

Albert Kresch (born 1922) is a New York School painter who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. One of the original members of the Jane Street Gallery in the 1930s, he exhibited in later years at Tibor de Nagy Gallery and Salander-O’Reilly Galleries. He is best known for landscape and still life compositions painted with evocatively rhythmic forms and vibrant colors.

Biography

Born in Scranton, PA, Kresch moved with his family to New York in the 30's. He began studying figure drawing at the Brooklyn Museum, but soon enrolled in the Hans Hoffman School. There he met Leland Bell, Louisa Mattisadottir, Nell Blaine, Judith Rothschild, Robert De Niro, Sr., and Virginia Admiral among other artists of note. These friendships proved a source of inspiration throughout much of his life.
In the 40s, he exhibited abstract work in his first two shows at the Jane Street Gallery, at a time when Abstract Expressionism was gathering steam. He soon embarked, however, on an independent path, inspired by his friend Jean Helion to return to representational painting. Friendships with poets Denise Levertov, and Frank O’Hara reflect the breadth of his interests. His painting philosophy was a subject of Levertov’s poems “The Dog of Art" and "Kresch's Studio."
Kresch won a Fulbright scholarship in 1953, aided in part by a letter of recommendation from his friend Willem De Kooning. Recent exhibitions of his work at Salander-O’Reilly Galleries won favorable reviews, and he was elected member of the National Academy in 2005.

Public Collections

Everhart Museum, Scranton, Pennsylvania

National Academy of Design, New York
Wright State University Galleries, Dayton, OH

Bibliography

"Artists' Theatre: Four Plays" by Artists' Theatre (1960) p. 81
"The Poet's Work: 29 Poets on the Origins and Practice of Their Art" by Reginald Gibbons (1989) p. 258
"Lush Life: The Biography of Billy Strayhorn" by David Hajdu (1996) p.126
"The New York Times" "Art in Review: Albert Kresch" by David Kimmelman (30 April 2002)
"New and Selected Essays" by Denise Levertov (1992) p. 72
"New Directions" 20 by James Laughlin, Peter Glassgold, Fredrick R. Martin p. 127
"The Letters of Denise Levertov and William Carlos Williams" by Denise Levertov and William Carlos Williams (1998) p. 49
"Turning the Feather Around" by George Morrison and Margot Galt (1998) p. 74
"The New York Sun" "Seeing the Forest and the Trees" by Maureen Mullarkey (27 July 2006)
"Originals: American Women Artists" by Eleanor C. Munro (2000) p. 265
"Tracking the Marvelous: A Life in the New York Art World" by John Bernard Myers (1984) p 166 & 174
"Storefront: A Community on 129th Street and Madison Avenue" by Ned O'Gorman (1970)
"Antiques and the Arts Weekly" "Paintings by Albert Kresch at the Salander O'Reilly Galleries" (5 April 2002)
"Louisa Matthiasdottir" by Jed Perl (1999) p. 56, 60, 75 and others.
"What Did I Do?: The Unauthorized Autobiography of Larry Rivers" by Larry Rivers and Arnold Weinstein (1993) p166, 169-71, 175, 176
"Nell Blaine: Her Life and Art" by Martica Sawin and Nell Blaine (1998) p 19,20,29,33,138
"Selected Art Writings" by James Schuyler (1998) p. 161
"Just the Thing: Selected Letters of James Schuyler, 1951-1991" by James Schuyler (2004) p. 50
"The Washington Post" "In Jane Freilicher's Landscapes and Kate McGarry's Jazz Improvisations, There's Room to Roam" by Terry Teachout (May 5, 2002)
"Leland Bell" by Fox Weber (1986) p. 53, 56

External links

Hot and Cool, Freedom and Structure: ALBERT KRESCH in conversation with Deborah Garwood and Craig Taylor [http://www.artcritical.com/studiovisit/DGCTKresch.htm]
"Gabriel Laderman on Art" Al Kresch Essay Accompanying His Show [http://gabrielladerman.vox.com/library/post/al-kresch-essay-accompanying-his-show.html]
"Albert Kresch: Paintings at Wright State University Art Gallery" by Walter King [http://blog.absolutearts.com/blogs/archives/00000302.html]