Gerrie J. Gutmann, also known as Gerrie Current, Gerrie von Pribosic, Gerrie Bollas (1921–1969) was an American post-surrealist painter from California. The imagery in her paintings was fantasy and often overlapped with autobiographical themes, expressing her struggles for an identity as a woman, an artist, and a mother.[1][2]
Gerrie Gutmann | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gerrie Current 1921 California, U.S. |
| Died | 1969 (aged 47–48) San Francisco, California |
| Other names | Gerrie von Pribosic Gutmann, Gerrie von Pribosic, Gerrie Bollas |
| Education | Stickney Memorial Art School |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Post-surrealist |
Early life and education edit
She was born as Gerrie Current in 1921.[3] She studied at the Stickney Memorial Art School in Pasadena in 1939 with painter Lorser Feitelson, a post-surrealist who painted in a more abstract hard-edged style.[4] She was primarily a self taught artist.[5] “[H]er subscription to View and trips to Mexico and Europe...[helped to] familiarized herself with surrealist works.”[5] Feitelson introduced her to artist Viktor von Pribosic (1909–1959), they were married and moved to Oregon however the marriage ended in divorce by 1945.[6] The divorce caused a custody battle over their son, and in much of her work the imagery of childhood and loss are persistent.[6]
Career edit
Surrealism is visible in Self Portrait (1946) where Gutmann adorns herself with biomorphic forms that suggest female genitalia symbolizing a birth, or rebirth process.[5]
By 1948, she had her first solo exhibition which traveled to multiple locations, including the Gallery Vivienne and Bonestall Gallery (both in New York), and the Harvey Weltch Gallery in Portland Oregon[7] Gutmann was accorded solo shows at the de Young Museum in San Francisco in 1949, 1952, and 1964.[7]
In 1949 she moved to Northern California and married photographer, John Gutmann.[6]
During the 1950s, she rejected the trend among West Coast artists for abstraction over fantastic imagery and so became isolated from other artists.[5] This is due to her having found a style that was best suited to express her inner turmoil and search for an identity as a woman, artist and mother.[8]
“The work of Gutmann along with that of Dorr Bothwell, Eugene Berman and the Post-Surrealists are considered to belong to a broad sphere of illusionistic fantasy loosely termed magic realism.[9] Those who look into her work find that she is more explicitly autobiographical and provided a release from the difficulties of her life- her abandonment by her father, the loss of her son, failed marriages, and alcoholism.[8][1][7]
Gerrie Gutmann and John Gutmann divorced in May 1964.[10][11]
Death and legacy edit
Gutmann committed suicide in 1969, in her home on Sacramento Street in San Francisco.[3][6][7] During her life she had thirteen art exhibitions in museums and galleries in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, New York and Portland, Oregon.[8]
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art retains in the permanent collection her painting, Death of the Bullfighter (1952) acquired in 2000 bequest by her second husband John Gutmann.[12] The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has her painting, The Theft (1952) in their collection as gift from David and Jeanne Carlson of the Carlson Gallery.[13]
References edit
- ^ a b Ehrlich, Susan (1996). "Pacific Dreams: Currents of Surrealism and Fantasy in California Art". Performing Arts Journal. 18: 73 – via Jstor.
- ^ "Art review: 'Drawing Surrealism' shows form's influence and growth". Los Angeles Times. 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ a b "Mrs. Gerrie Hollas Funeral' services". Newspapers.com. The San Francisco Examiner. June 17, 1969. p. 44. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
Mrs. Bollas died unexpectedly Thursday in her residence, 3109 Sacramento St. She was 48
- ^ Bauduin, Tessel M.; Ferentinou, Victoria (2018). Surrealism, Occultism and Politics: In Search of the Marvellous. Routledge. ISBN 9781351379021.
- ^ a b c d Ehrlich, Susan (1995). Pacific Dreams Currents of Surrealism and Fantasy in California Art. University of California. p. 112. ISBN 0943739187.
- ^ a b c d Probst, Kate (2018-04-30). "Gerrie Gutmann". The Women's Studio. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ a b c d Fort, Ilene (2012). In Wonderland The Surrealists Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and United States. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. p. 224. ISBN 978-3-641-08200-0.
- ^ a b c Ehrlich, Susan (1995). Pacific Dreams Currents of Surrealism and Fantasy in California Art. University of California. p. 114. ISBN 0943739187.
- ^ Susan, Ehrlich (1996). "Pacific Dreams: Currents of Surrealism and Fantasy in California Art". Performing Arts Journal. 18: 72 – via Jstor.
- ^ "Finding aid for the John Gutmann archive, circa 1930s - 1990s, AG 173" (PDF). Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
- ^ "Spicy Food Leads to Divorce". Newspapers.com. Oakland Tribune. May 27, 1964. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ "Gerrie von Pribosic Gutmann, Death of the Bullfighter, 1952". SFMOMA.
- ^ "Collection: The Theft". LACMA.