Robert Zakanitch
Encyclopedia
Robert Zakanitch is an American
painter and was one of the founders of the Pattern & Decorative movement. His work is held in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
, Museum of Modern Art
, Whitney Museum of American Art
, among others.
and grew up in Rahway
. He lives and works in New York City.
painting but would go on to be one of the founders of the Pattern & Decorative movement in the mid 1970s. While working in the Color Field he was strict to adhering to an abstract style inspired by Minimalism
until he learned about decorative imagery
. He kept the same color schemes and structures, but incorporated floral motif and a more painterly style. Zakanitch was exhibiting in New York as early as 1968. In 1975 he met Miriam Schapiro
while he served as a guest instructor at the University of California, San Diego
. A year later, in New York, the two artists would organize an organization around Pattern & Decoration artists.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter and was one of the founders of the Pattern & Decorative movement. His work is held in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, among others.
Personal life
Robert Zakanitch was born in 1935 in Elizabeth, New JerseyElizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
and grew up in Rahway
Rahway, New Jersey
Rahway is a city in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, being 15 miles southwest of Manhattan and five miles west of Staten Island...
. He lives and works in New York City.
Career
In the late 1960s he began experimenting with Color FieldColor Field
Color Field painting is a style of abstract painting that emerged in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It was inspired by European modernism and closely related to Abstract Expressionism, while many of its notable early proponents were among the pioneering Abstract Expressionists...
painting but would go on to be one of the founders of the Pattern & Decorative movement in the mid 1970s. While working in the Color Field he was strict to adhering to an abstract style inspired by Minimalism
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
until he learned about decorative imagery
Decorative art
The decorative arts is traditionally a term for the design and manufacture of functional objects. It includes interior design, but not usually architecture. The decorative arts are often categorized in opposition to the "fine arts", namely, painting, drawing, photography, and large-scale...
. He kept the same color schemes and structures, but incorporated floral motif and a more painterly style. Zakanitch was exhibiting in New York as early as 1968. In 1975 he met Miriam Schapiro
Miriam Schapiro
Miriam Schapiro is a Canadian-born artist based in America. She is a pioneer of feminist art. She is also considered part of the Pattern and Decoration art movement....
while he served as a guest instructor at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. A year later, in New York, the two artists would organize an organization around Pattern & Decoration artists.
External links
- Oral history interview with Robert Zakanitch, 1972 Aug. 23-30 from the Smithsonian Archives of American ArtArchives of American ArtThe Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 16 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washington, D.C...
.