Dorothy Dehner (1901–1994) was an influential American multidisciplinary artist who worked with drawing, painting, printmaking, and most notably sculpture.
Dehner's legacy has been overshadowed for many years by her ex-husband, the acclaimed sculptor David Smith. Stifled by their tumultuous relationship, Dehner only fully committed to her practice after divorcing him in 1951. This break was highly fruitful for her artistic output and reputation in the following years.
After the divorce, Dehner refined her artistic voice and expanded her practice to include printmaking and sculpture. Her new-found independence and renewed ambition led to a pivotal relationship with the esteemed printmaking studio . Working there she formed a close and enduring friendship with .
Today Dehner has been re-embraced and repositioned in the American art canon. Her work is best understood and appreciated in the context of not only David Smith, but other artists dedicated to sculpture including Lee Bontecou, Ruth Asawa and of course Louise Nevelson.
Simultaneously spontaneous and architectural, Dehner's oeuvre resists categorization. Marked intricate line-work and structural geometric forms, the artist blends organic abstraction with an innate sense of rhythm and balance. Dehner's work from the 1950's especially her works on paper, demonstrate the influence that Cubism had on abstract expressionism.
This elegant and evocative work on paper demonstrates Denher's distinct brand of abstraction, marked by fine, precise lines that converge and intercept at various degrees. In this piece, the artist employs a striking use of negative space, accentuating the strength and clarity of the geometric forms as they unfold in a delicate spiral across the page.
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“Breeze (Fire Island)”
USA, 1951
Ink and watercolor on paper
Signed and dated lower left
18.25"H 22.75"W (work)
22.5"H 26.25"W (framed)
Very good condition
