EXHIBITION:

A galvanizing “Yes,” to the creator of “NO!”

WESTWOOD GALLERY NYC is proud to present an expansive collection of the works of Boris Lurie (1924 - 2008). Pioneer of the NO! movement started in 1959, with fellow dissidents Sam Goodman and Stanley Fisher, Lurie’s stirring work has been jolting the art world awake for over a half century. This oeuvre of more than 60 paintings, collages and sculptures (curated by James Cavello), produced from the ‘50’s to 70’s, captures Lurie’s passion for rocking the establishment, forcing people to confront ugliness, and the rousing power of incongruous images. Boris Lurie’s work is also on view in Inventing Downtown: Artist-Run Galleries in New York City, 1952-1965 at the Grey Art Gallery, NYU through April 1, 2017. A collective of co-op galleries on 10th street were established in 1950’s to fulfill the need for artist-run galleries and Boris Lurie was a member of March Gallery.

Born in St. Petersburg, and after enduring what can only be described as the harshest extremities of the human experience (surviving four concentration camps, while his mother, sister and grandmother were slaughtered), Lurie immigrated to New York City in 1946. His early work hinted at German Expressionism, with dark hues and obfuscated, deformed figures of females, in particular. With politically inspired pieces, often featuring stark images from the Holocaust, Lurie was adamant about repudiating commercialism in art. A disdain for the popular movements of Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art lead to an alliance with Goodman and Fisher, as they developed the NO! model, an eponymous rejection of the accepted. Internationally displayed, Lurie’s apt ability to work in a variety of mediums is a further testament to his unbridled craving to create and disseminate; a sprawling ken, unhampered by the need for “approval.”

WESTWOOD GALLERY NYC has a longstanding history with The Boris Lurie Art Foundation, having featured the first posthumous solo showing of Lurie’s work in 2008. Founded in 1995, the gallery has been a Nolita safe house for some of the world’s most culturally relevant and stimulating (new and rediscovered) artists.

Altered Israeli Flags with Yellow Star of David

1974
Collage, flags and cloth with oil paint mounted on foam board
40.25 x 30 inches


Three Women

circa 1955
Oil paint on masonite mounted on canvas
46.5 x 47 inches

Altered Photos (Cabot Lodge)

1963
Paint and paper collage on paper mounted on canvas
29.25 x 23.75 inches

Untitled (Two Women)

1956
Oil paint on masonite
45.5 x 36.25 inches

NO with Pinups and Shadow (Large NO Painting)

1958
Oil paint on paper mounted on board
45 x 45.5 inches


Altered Photos (Cabot Lodge)

1963
Paint on paper mounted on canvas
46 x 31.5 inches


Altered Photos (Cabot Lodge)

1963
Paint on paper mounted on canvas
29.25 x 24 inches


Untitled (Suzy Sweet)

1963
Paint, paper, and photos on canvas
51 x 43 inches

NO on Plastic

circa 1966-1969
Oil paint on unstreched canvas
28.5 x 35 inches

IN

circa 1973
Paper collage, paint, and varnish on paper
21.5 x 32 inches

Save (Slave)

1962-73
Paper collage, paint, and varnish on paper
22 x 31 inches

Feel Painting NO with Red and Black

1963
Paint on plastic mounted on canvas
22 x 35 inches


Adieu Amerique

1959-60
Oil on canvas
55.5 x 51.5 inches

on exhibit at Grey Gallery, NYU

    
  1. EXHIBITION:
  2. WESTWOOD GALLERY, NYC
  3. Altered Israeli Flags with Yellow Star of David
  4. Three Women
  5. Altered Photos (Cabot Lodge)
  6. Untitled (Two Women)
  7. NO with Pinups and Shadow (Large NO Painting)
  8. Altered Photos (Cabot Lodge)
  9. Altered Photos (Cabot Lodge)
  10. Untitled (Suzy Sweet)
  11. NO on Plastic
  12. IN
  13. Save (Slave)
  14. Feel Painting NO with Red and Black
  15. Adieu Amerique
  16. Gallery Information