Gregory Amenoff
Gregory Amenoff is an abstract artist from New York. Born in 1948, he has been teaching at Columbia University for the last 15 years. He has displayed many one man shows of his art. His paintings have an Impressionist like style to them, and some of them remind me of Andre Derain’s works. He also does many works on paper, as well as woodcuts.
Amenoff’s paintings are all brightly colored. He is quoted in an interview with Rachel Rosenfield Lafo as saying “In the paintings, monotypes, and woodcuts, color is a critical ingredient and is the primary indicator of atmosphere and light. In drawing and lithography, I think much more in terms of value, largely because of the nature of the materials used. Although there are certainly exceptions, color plays a secondary role in those media.” Lafo also describes Amenoff’s works as “restrained,” and later paintings “curve irregularly in an embodiment of the rhythm of nature’s forces, and burst out in exuberant shapes and colors. In recent years, his images, (whether they be thorns, spines, vessels, or plant shapes), have become more centered, and have a decidedly figurative reference.”
Oxbow
Amenoff does not consider himself as an abstract artist, however. “I do not consider myself to be an artist whose work is particularly abstract. I treat images the way I suppose a figurative painter would treat images. I think about subjects and I think about figure and context for figure. I don’t see distinctions between means of representation. The issues are the same for an abstract painter and a figurative painter,” he said in the interview with Lafo.
Eastertide
In his letter, Amenoff encourages the Young Artist to work in isolation and produce objects from the imagination. I can see the similarities between this statement and his work. Amenoff also encourages the YA to avoid art fairs, and don’t be afraid of doing dumb things in the studio. I can see this in Amenoff biographies, as nowhere is it mentioned that Amenoff exhibits at art fairs. He also has changed his art over the years and knows what he wants to do in his art.
I agree with a lot of Amenoff’s advice. I don’t really like going to art fairs, either, because I get really depressed when I go there and see all this great art and I’m like, “Why aren’t I here doing this? Why can’t I charge several hundred dollars for my work? What makes their art better than mine? What’s stopping me from exhibiting?” I wish I had my own studio…but in the mean time I have to depend on other things like my computer and focus on my photography. Amenoff also encourages the YA to read artist biographies. I love reading artist biographies. I got really excited when I found the memoirs of Elisabeth Louise Vigee Lebrun for my Kindle. Lebrun is one of my favorite artists so I was excited to find that.
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGd0n2IPHw8
Sources:
http://gregoryamenoff.com/essays/03.html
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/04/10/images/gregoryAmenoff.jpg
http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images/74879/295799.jpg
http://artcritical.com/DavidCohen/sun_images_october/amenoff.jpg
annethebutler 
Anne,
You mention that Lafo describes Amenoff’s work as “restrained,” and I believe that Amenoff enjoys being somewhat restrained. In this video (http://www.billmaynes.com/video5.html) he talks about how the borders of the canvas naturally create boundaries (perhaps this could be viewed as a restriction), but within those borders there is complete freedom. I believe Amenoff must enjoy that restriction somewhat because he chooses what I consider to be relatively small canvases/surfaces for his subject matter. I love his work, yet I almost wonder if the work would be better bigger.
I think he could go bigger, too, now that you mention it. For as colorful as his works are, I wonder if they would have the same impact if they were bigger.
Do you have any thoughts on this comment: “In drawing and lithography, I think much more in terms of value, largely because of the nature of the materials used.” In those mediums, I think it’s much more difficult to control the value. Of his works on paper that I’ve seen, I felt like color was paramount.
I like that you and Leah chose to reflect on the same artist, yet presented images that represent the distinctions within Amenoff’s style. In Eastertide, the bulkiness and sharp edges of the rocks, as well as the saturation of color, reminds me of some of Paul Cezanne’s “mountain” paintings. (I don’t know how to attach a file to a comment, or if you even can. Do a Google image search for Bibemus Quarry.)
Going along with Leah’s comment, I think he makes those pieces smaller because of the material used. So he makes them smaller in order to control it more.
I was also thinking Cezanne when I saw his work, too.