Albert Kotin: The New York School – At the Heart of It All

LewAllen Galleries is pleased to present an exhibition of rarely exhibited paintings by Albert Kotin, entitled, The New York School – At the Heart of It All, which opens Friday, March 31, and remains on view through April 29, 2023. A reception will be held on Friday, March 31 from 5–7 PM.

After World War II, the painter Albert Kotin (1907–1980) immersed himself in the exciting artistic environment of Greenwich Village. Working from his studio on West 10th Street, he became an active member of the first-generation of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism. This uniquely American art movement radiated from Kotin’s neighborhood–then a handful of run-down New York City blocks suitable for studios and homes for struggling artists. Abstract Expressionism has the distinction of being the first American school of art to gain international acclaim and significance – so much so that ultimately, New York would supplant Paris, transforming New York into the premier city of the art world.

The paintings in this exhibition vividly illustrate the expansive range of Kotin’s visual language and demonstrate the exceptional contribution he made to the first generation of the New York School of abstract painters. From Hans Hofmann, Kotin learned, “A picture should be made with feeling, not with knowing,” and certainly in the early works from the years when he was a student of his, Kotin explored a range of approaches that allowed him the freedom to express those feelings. These manifested in various forms and degrees of intensities of heat and energy in his abstraction. Over time, like other artists of this period, he brought to his work deeply felt obsessions with concerns of his times and the world. And having been at the heart of what many think of as the triumph of American painting, Kotin left works of immersing fascination, most canonically Abstract Expressionism, but some beyond easy categorization or historical precedent into realms distinctly personal.

Gallery Hours: Mon–Fri, 10–6; Sat, 10–5