Forget that business about 65 being the new 50. It’s not (some recalcitrant body part will surely confirm that), but neither is it the 65 of our parents, who were constrained by the expectations of age, gender, culture, and ethnicity. As Boomers we broadened those parameters, and as artists we revel in the range of possibilities. We have no intention of retiring. We may have left the day job, but our studio life is as active as it has always been, perhaps more so. The fire still burns, notes Len Bellinger, "for those of us who have been at this for 40+ years and can still stand in front of a canvas with the same enthusiasm and awe."
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The 65 artists over 65 whose work is featured in this post
bring decades of experience to their practice, along with impressive
exhibition histories and an ardor for artmaking which, if anything,
has increased over time. Yes, we’re dealing with ageism in one
form or another, sometimes overlaid with those equally stultifying
evergreens, sexism and racism, but that bad news is for another post.
Here we celebrate the variety of creative expression fueled by e
dedication and purpose. I've opened with large and ambitious
work to dispel any idea that growing older means scaling back.
The youngest artist in this post just squeaked in at a recent 65, while
at the upper register there are working artists in their 80s, the oldest
at 87. I'll leave it to you to try to figure out who is who.
Jacket from the Silk Road, carved and painted wood with aluminum leaf, 120 x 108 x 18 inches
Drift, 2019, tar paper and hand-dyed paper, 214 x 144 inches x 1 inch; installation at Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, Connecticut
Elizabeth Riley
Structure from Light, 2019, video stills inkjet-printed on paper, 105 x 136 x 9 inches
Structure from Light, 2019, video stills inkjet-printed on paper, 105 x 136 x 9 inches
Planetary, 2019, oil and acrylic on wood, 94 x 41.75 x 5 inches
Detail above, full view below
Quiver #18, 2019, acrylic and collage on canvas, 48 x 42 inches
Safe Space, 2019, oil on panel, 50 x 72 inches
Zig Zag Series, From Violet to Yellow Over Red, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches
P&D #104, 2019, flashe and colored pencil on paper, 22 x 22 inches
Blues for Popova, 2018, oil on panel, 26 x 24 inches
Venus Rising, 2019, acrylic paint and pastes on linen, 50 x 44 inches
Nomad I, 2019, oil and acrylic on linen, 72 x 60 inches
Pulse Field, 2019, encaustic on panel, 30 x 60 inches
Rebound, 2019, encaustic on panel, 20 x 20 inches
November Blue, 2019, acrylic on panel, 12 x 12 inches
Hit Parade, 2019, mixed media on panel, 36 x 36 inches
Study Blue, 2019, colored pencil on paper, 13 x 15 inches
Only a Shadow Remained, 2019, monotype with graphite and wax on panel, 14 x 14 inches
Artist Statement, 2019, acrylic on PVC, 16 x 12 inches
William Conger
Victor, 2019, oil on linen, 40 x 30 inches
Victor, 2019, oil on linen, 40 x 30 inches
Lift, 2019; ash and maple veneers on birch plywood, acrylic paint; 26 x 9 x 14 inches
High Chair, 2019, assembled wood, 20.5 x 14 x 2.5 inches
Intersections, 2019, oil stick on panel, 36 x 24 inches
Lightwave, 2018, pigment prints on fabric with encaustic, 15 x 22 x 5 inches
Installation view of Silk Road paintings at ODETTA, New York City, 2019,
each encaustic on panel, 18 x 18 inches
Installation view of solo at Ryan James Fine Arts, Seattle; left: Pyramid Steppes, 25 x 59; right: Square Not a Square, 35 x 35 inches; both 2019, encaustic on panel
Close in Value, 2018; wood, clay, paint; 4.75 x 6.25 x 3.25 inches
All of Us, 2017-19; limestone, granite, marble, sandstone; 94 x 3 x 42 inches
Commissioned by NJ Transit for Jersey Avenue Light Rail station, Jersey City
Ticaboo, 2019, encaustic and mixed media, 30 x 50 inches
Untitled, mixed media on styrofoam, 14 x 14 inches
Blackbook, 2019, ink on polyester film, 12 x 18 inches
Tantra III, 2018,acrylic on canvas, 8 x 16 inches
Poetry of the Square, 2017, metalpoint (silver, copper, gold) on black-gessoed panel, 24 x 24 x 2 inches
Migration, 2019, acrylic on birch with basswood framework, 30 x 30 x 8 inches
Chunk Chain A5, 2019, oil on Mylar, 14 x 14 inches
Delicate Crossroad, 2019; image transfer, pastel, encaustic on panel, 12 x 12 inches
Connie Saddlemire
Prayer, 2019, assembled solarplate monoprint, 21 x 21 inches
Prayer, 2019, assembled solarplate monoprint, 21 x 21 inches
Untitled, 2019, encaustic over plaster, 20 x 15 x 5 inches
Yvette Cohen
Rock Stack Series II #4, 2019; acrylic, graphite, and wooden dowels on shaped canvas; 26.5 x 29 inches
Rock Stack Series II #4, 2019; acrylic, graphite, and wooden dowels on shaped canvas; 26.5 x 29 inches
Overlays, 2019, oil and cold wax on panel, 48 x 36 inches
ttm.marga, 2016-2019; oil, acrylic, staples, glue, and fabric on canvas mounted on wood; 81 x 63 inches
Window II, 2019, oil and mixed media on panel, 24 x 18 inches
First Thaw, 2019, acrylic and mixed media on panel, 16 x 12
Behind Closed Eyes 20, 2019, oil on panel, 42 x 28 inches
Yellow Triangles, 2019, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
G, 2018, oil on canvas, 14 x 7 inches
Garden of Eden, 2019, oil on linen, 48 x 36 inches
Far Flung, 2019, oil on linen, 38 x 54 inches
Stephanie Brody-Lederman
Dancing Girl with Big Crown, 2019; acrylic, oil, graphite on Arches; 21 x 10 inches
Untitled, 2019, acrylic and black stone on paper, 50 x 38 inches
Pearl Tree (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow), 2019; mixed media wall sculpture with plant material, pearl necklaces, waxed cord, and encaustic; 47 x 42.5 x 9 inches
Colorado 1, 2019; oil, cold wax, found objects; 12 x 12 inches
Dothead 1, 2019, glazed ceramics, 9 x 4 x 5 inches
Unravelling, 2019, mixed media, 84 inches high
Songs from a Tree, 2018, pencil and watercolor on paper, 12 x 13 inches
Installation view of New Land series, 2015-2017, gouache and mixed media on paper, each 8.5 x 12 inches. The series, which considers the challenges of dislocation and immigration, was shown at the Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster, New Jersey, 2019. Some 288 pictures were gridded on six walls.
Closeup of one work below: Something Strange Happened in the New Land
Demonology, 2018, oil on linen, 30 x 24 inches
Essential Survivor, 2019, tapestry and mixed media, 36 x 48 inches
Seeking Solace, No. 1, 2019, pigment ink on kozo with encaustic, 36 x 34 inches
Time and Light and Sounds, 2019; oil, wax, charcoal, graphite on canvas, 77 x 141 inches
Rain in the City, after Hopper, 2019, photo-montage archival pigment print, 22 x 30 inches
Janis, inflatable sewn and painted nylon with internal LED lighting, 120 x 60 inches; here staged in front of the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, one of a series of unauthorized placements by the artist; 2019
Bonus!
The Title, 2019, mixed media, 25 x 45 inches
Notes
You may have noticed a variation in the size of the images. While it's impossible to depict scale without a context, I tried to distinguish between "small" and "larger" by showing works 12 inches or under in a slightly smaller format. But don't be fooled; those smaller works can hold their own quite tenaciously.
You may be wondering how these artists were selected out of the (tens of) thousands of working artists over 65. I posted a call on Facebook, which means it was seen only by my friends on that social media platform. I limited the call in this way so as not to be inundated with submissions. I derive great satisfaction from maintaining this blog—and particularly by featuring my contemporaries who have worked so hard for so many years—but I needed to keep the submissions at a manageable number (about 150), well aware that I would be unable to include some very good work by some very good friends.
Once the deadline passed I began the difficult process of selection. Of course it was subjective—if you follow this blog, you know I’m partial to the color and geometry of abstraction—but I made every effort to be aesthetically inclusive. As I began to curate the selections I decided to go with the flow, which is to say allowing a painting, work on paper, sculpture, or photograph to assume its place in the queue based on its visual or conceptual relationship to the works before and after it. Crafting the flow is my favorite part of the process; it's also the most difficult, because it's the point at which work that had survived all the preliminary cuts may get eliminated. Apologies in advance to the many wonderful artists whose work you won't see here.
For those artists whose work is shown, click onto their names for a link to their websites.
. . . . . . . . . .
. An Aggregate of Forces: 60 Women Artists Over 60
. Armory Week 2017
