Hard-Edge Paintings

Oli T. Sihvonen (1921 - 1991) The Secrets in the Circle, 1962 Oil on canvas 25 x 34 in Signed lower right; signed, titled dated, and inscribed "Box 563 Taos, N.M." on the reverse Provenance: Private Collection, Nyack, New York Known for large, hard-edged abstractions, Oli T. Sihvonen, a Brooklyn native of Finnish ancestry, grew up in Connecticut. He attended the Norwich Art School before enrolling at the Art Students League in New York between 1938 and 1941. During World War II, Sihvonen served in the United States Army as a sergeant, specializing, as he later said, in “camouflage and deception.” His tour of duty took him to Europe where he encountered the work of Paul Cézanne. In the summer of 1946, Sihvonen traveled to western North Carolina to study at Black Mountain College, which experienced a boost in enrollment following the war years. He was greatly influenced by the progressive color theories of Josef Albers, and, later, the thinking of Buckminster Fuller. After leaving Black Mountain in 1948, Sihvonen continued his studies under the G.I. Bill at Louis Ribak’s Taos Valley Art School in New Mexico from 1949 to 1950. A year spent painting murals in Mexico included work for the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in Mexico City, an early example of his large-scale proficiency. Returning to the East Coast, Sihvonen held a succession of teaching posts: initially in Washington, DC, and then in New York City, first at Hunter College in 1954 and the following academic year at Cooper Union. Drawn to the southwestern landscape, Sihvonen moved to New Mexico, where he resided in Taos from 1956 through 1967. There, he painted sizeable geometric compositions with exuberant colors, which was atypical of Taos painters...

Michael Loew (1907-1985). Red Above Blue, 1966. Acrylic on canvas, 39 x 56 inches. Signed lower right. Signed, titled and dated en verso. Excellent condition. Biography: Michael Loew was born in 1907 and was the son of a New York City baker. After high school, he was an apprentice to a stained-glass maker, and from 1926-1929, he studied at the Art Student’s League. In 1929, he traveled to Paris, North Africa, Germany, and Italy with a group of artists, including Max Schnitzler...