The paintings of Seymour Rosofsky.

Abstract

Seymour Rosofsky (1924-1981) was one of a generation of strong, independent-minded Chicago artists who bucked the trends of abstraction, minimalism and conceptual art coming from New York in the 1950s through the 1980s to persevere instead in a staunchly figurative, surreal style. This study of Rosofsky's paintings catalogues and documents the artist's major work; suggests interpretations for his intensely personal, complex imagery; and illuminates the social, cultural and artistic contexts of his art. The first four chapters investigate the artist's education, early stylistic development, his professional career and the development of his mature style. The next chapter explores the artist's mature work centering around his four major themes: (1) the individual's loss of power in the face of modern life; (2) the absurdity of war; (3) relationships between male and female; and (4) the voyage of life. The artistic contexts in which Rosofsky worked and gained a reputation are the topic of the final, concluding chapter. A complete Checklist of his paintings, a preliminary checklist of his prints and biographical and bibliographic appendices close the volume. Rosofsky's art is examined through the filter of his life because much of his imagery is highly personal and, though perhaps unconsciously, autobiographical. However, these paintings also mirror the time in which he lived--decades of social and historical revolutions such as the anti-war and the women's liberation movement. The impact of these changes in the structure of contemporary society, in individual and familial relationships and in the self-images of men and women were wide-reaching. Rosofsky captured and vividly expressed them in his art by combining the universal with the personal to reflect the emotional and societal turmoil that shaped our current culture.