Under Construction

Soon to come is the VincentPepi.com website which will feature his complete oeuvre from 1949 to the present. Along with a biography, museum collections, exhibits, and reviews.

"Modern critics could learn a lot from Kenneth Clark"

Written by Jonathan Jones on his blog-

British art historian Sir Kenneth Clark. Photograph: Hulton Getty

Kenneth Clark's honesty and transparency, paired with his ability to ask the questions that matter, made him the art critic's critic

Forty years ago an art historian stood in front of
the camera, with a view of Notre Dame behind him, to
tell British TV audiences that civilisation had been
imperilled before. We only survived, he said,
"by the skin of our teeth ..."
That is how Kenneth Clark's 1969 BBC2 series Civilsation
began. Today you can watch it on DVD, the book of
the series is still in print and Tate Britain is marking its
40th anniversary with a series of debates (I'm speaking
on 21 March if you fancy a live argument). Yet when I was
a student, having been too young to see its first appearance,
I got to know Clark through John Berger's criticisms in his
famous book Ways of Seeing. There I encountered Clark as
a straw man: some sort of aristocratic conservative who wentaround evaluating womens' bodies as art objects (in The Nude)and loftily denying that Gainsborough's painting Mr and Mrs Andrews has anything to do with the display of property.Finally, one day, I bought Clark's biography of Leonardo da Vinci - and discovered the most entertaining art critic of the 20th century.
Reading Clark is like drinking champagne compared with the small beer of most art history. In the 20th century, art history became less eloquent and more academic than it had ever been before. Victorians had Ruskin and Pater and Burckhardt but by the 1950s, people were banging their heads against the iconographic school of art history whose greatest exemplars - Panofsky, Warburg, Gombrich - are still worth studying but only after you have already got a very good sense of the basics. In other words, art historians in Clark's lifetime became specialists. Nowadays they're even more obscurantist, having discovered "theory".
Clark was and is the antidote to all this. He writes with sublime confidence about what we actually need to think about: why is a Renaissance statue usually so much more alive than its classical models? Why do Leonardo da Vinci's drawings so entrance the mind? He doesn't ever get into narrow debates and yet he always makes you see things more clearly. His book One Hundred Details from the National Gallery, recently reprinted by the institution of which he was director, is a mind-expanding guide.
Far from being a snob, Clark is great because he always explains his basic premise and says why he believes something - he is transparent and honest. This is incredibly rare in writing about art. Most famous critics tend to be just ragbags of unexplained assumptions. But Clark always says why he's praising or denigrating something.
If every student of art history or would-be critic was made to begin by reading Clark's work, this would be an excellent step towards reforming the way we now think and write about art. Who knows - it might even save civilisation.

"What were Ad Reinhardt's paintings all about?"

From the Brooklyn Rail - an article by Michael Corris; "Reply to Irving Sandler"- appeared recently in Feb. '09.
Brings to us several points of interest, which could lead to the further discussion on this blog.

For example:

'That Ad Reinhardt took a hard line on the art-life divide has never been in question. What has been at issue is what, precisely, such a position meant and what significance such a position could possibly have for artists today.'

'Mr. Sandler asserts that Reinhardt’s “ ‘black’ paintings clearly embody his [Reinhardt’s] purist intentions.” Since my research and thinking on Reinhardt’s practices have led me to view such a statement as highly problematic, it is important that I respond to Mr. Sandler’s accusation that my interpretation of Reinhardt’s practice as a painter is “off base”. To support his claim, Mr. Sandler hypothesizes that “Ad would have insisted that his painting be perceived solely as painting and not as evidence of his Self.” '

An early painting by Ad Reinhardt, 1938

'Reinhardt understood that how a painting is made is as ethically consequent as what a painting is of. Abstract art, for Reinhardt and others of his generation, is not a meaningless pattern even if it is not a picture of anything. But we must go further when we speak about Reinhardt’s late paintings: the orientation and attitude demanded of the spectator is also part of the several virtues of abstraction the artist aimed to encompass through his practice.'

Your comments on this article would be appreciated.

Doyle Auction Catalogue, 2007

Vincent Pepi's artistic ideas are closely akin to the abstract expressionist movement, though he developed his mature style while outside of their circle. Upon completing his studies at Cooper Union and Pratt, Pepi moved to Rome in 1949. In Italy he associated with many influential artists of that generation, including Roberto Matta. He also continued his studies under the tutelage of Beppe Guzzi. Pepi's time in Italy was a pivotal moment in the evolution of modern art. A time when the influence of European art gave way to that of the action painters in the New York area. Pepi returned to New York in 1951 and showed at both Stable and March Gallery. Yet he was neither comfortable with the the art scene nor did he completely associate what he was doing with the art work of his peers. This discomfort and disconnect eventually prompted him to withdraw from the gallery world, though his passion for his work never diminished.
Excerpted from Doyle auction catalogue, May 20, page 117




Side Remarks from the artist himself:

Regarding the "discomfort and disconnect", it was not with the painters of this period, but with the people (primarily galleries and hangers-on, who's purpose was to make profit from that group of artista of that period in one way or another. Irving Sandler, the poor boy from Philadelphia had a lot to gain from this situation. There have been glaring errors in the chronicling of the artists of this period. The most glaring of which would be complete "Ignoring of Individuals" standing right in the middle of the whole scene but a "Making believe" that they were not there at all. Amongst those who I feel were ignored (or if you prefer... did not receive the proper attention) were Nick Carone, Conrad Marca-Relli and Vincent Pepi (myself). Nick , I knew from Rome, where he was exceedingly helpful to both myself and Ray Spillenger, who was my room-mate in Rome along with Vincent Capraro and his companion Tatiana. Nick introduced me to Beppe Guzzi, who in turn introduced me to the sculptor Pericle Fazzini, and also to Angelo Savelli, the painter. Roberto Matta, I met through Savelli. When I returned to New York after my sojourn in Italy, Nick Carone brought Spillenger and myself in to the 1953 Stable Gallery Exhibit. Marca-Relli was the first artist I met in New York. He had his studio on the same floor as Ray Spillenger. Ray let me share half of his studio for a short period in new York before I got settled. I did get settled soon enough, with my lovely wife and a brand new baby boy who we named Leonardo (after you know who). Later on we were blessed with a baby girl, who was named Diana after the goddess of the hunt.

"SPACE". . . Definition and Meaning in our 21st Century World

In response to the question posed by Elaine Dekooning
in one of the early issues of "It Is" (Phillip Pavia's magazine of the 50's)
"Whatever happened to old fashion composition?"

The word Space, only comes into the language of art after the start of the modern art movement towards the end of the 19th century. Up until then, the word Composition having to do with the division of the two dimensional surface space of the canvas. The new word "space" was now making reference to the fracturing of and experimenting with this actual surface plane (the canvas). Along with these experiments having to do with the physicality of the art arena - The "circus" as Matta referred to it when he -as he liked to do- involved his participants in up-to-date discussion- was the question of abstract qualities and space, which the canvas provided to the viewer.
Hans Hofmann, the pied piper, art teacher of the New York city and environs of Cape Cod - referred to the sensation of "Push" and "Pull" to his students as the breathing of the canvas surface, which of course comes directly from Cezanne. The better or more intellectual students of his flock adapted this perception in properly reading the canvases of Cezanne and Kandinsky. Also this awareness and sesitivity to art with al of its manifestations made certain individuals much more sensitive to Chopin"s music.
Along with the space question and its demands to the inquisitive mind, other experiments involving the physicality of the painted surface began to rear-up in grand profusion as part f the modern movement. The artist as individual emerged in this "time frame" as one who would make his identity known. But not as other artists before him who represented other times and other sentiments. This Modern artist wished to leave tracks which would convey another meaning. A meaning having to do with Expressionism. It was important for this artist to convey to the viewer, his or her point of view - and from these points of view we could all get in touch with the phenomena of the creative process and what the mind of man stores up and what is significant in the mystery of life which we all participate in.
Many enthusiastic and vain glorious artists came flying into the arena to do their "fire- dance" but as always has been (many are caleed, but few are chosen).
It is clear to me now after many long years of suffering in the debris of this modern art movement as it was played out by the members of the New york School of Abstract Expressionism - there were many participants and plenty of talent poured into this art endeavor, but few of these eager participants really contributed very much. Since their real purpose was fueled by their desire to be part of the crowd and thus to satisfy their egos and personal aspirations for self aggrandizement. This was heavy stuff to ingest in those days and few knew exactly how to handle it.

Richard Cummings "The Dead and the Powerless"

“Wandering between two worlds,
one dead the other powerless to be born.”

-Matthew Arnold

Beyond the Canon/Small Scale American Abstraction 1945-1965

Back in January of this year, a very interesting exhibit was put on by the Robert Miller Gallery. The following review by Roberta Smith can be read here. My thoughts about this article is that I felt that an opportunity was missed in explaining more about the limits of the Abstract Expressionism movement. I discussed this subject with Richard Cummings and this in essence is what I said and his response.

"There is a big change which has occurred in our existence and I must attempt to put it into words in order to capture this moment in time. So that we can achieve some semblance of serenity and calm - from this world gone a-mock. It is this feeling I have which I recently discussed with Richard Cummings and he agrees with me. In fact he related to me about one of his professors at Cambridge who declared that these moments in history (when they occur) are as though a door opens just a crack or so then is lost - to our better understanding of the human condition."

Vincent Pepi, June 11, 2009