Artist Statement
My aim and desire is to create a synthesis of structure and freedom and to make paintings that create their own light rather than imitate the observed light of nature. My work has gone from abstract to a combination of representational and semi-abstract which is where it is now.
Biography
Albert Kresch (b. 1922) is a New York School painter who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. A member of the Jane Street Gallery in the 1940’s, he exhibited in later years at Salander O’Reilly and Lohin Geduld Galleries among others. He is best known for landscapes and still life compositions painted with evocatively rhythmic forms and vibrant colors.
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. Among his peers were Leland Bell, Louisa Mattiasdottir, Nell Blaine, Judith Rothschild, Robert De Niro Sr. and Virginia Admiral.
In the 40’s 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 the French artist, Jean Helion to return to representation painting. Friendships with Poets Denise Levertov and Frank O’Hara reflect the breadth of his interests. His painting philosophy was a supject of Levertov’s poem, “The Dog of Art” and “Kresch’s Studio.”
Kresch won a Fulbright scholarship in 1953, aided in part by a letter of recommendation from Willem DeKooning. JHe was elected a member of the National Academy in 2005.
Having exhibited extensively since before showing as part of the Jane St Gallery Collective in the 40’s through his most recent shows with the Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors most recently his work can be seen in these permanent collections:
Public Collections
The Everhart Museum, Scranton, PA
National Academy of Design, NYC, NY
Wright State University Galleries, Dayton, OH
Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC
Watch a video interview with Albert Kresch in his studio from March 31, 2016, courtesy of Gorky’s Granddaughter.
Read Deborah Garwood’s interview with Albert Kresch on Art Critical from 2005.
Read the New York Times review from 2002
Art at Kings Oaks 