Findlay Galleries announces the October 4, 2021 opening of John Ferren, From Paris to Springs, the artist’s first solo exhibition in more than a decade.
A founding member and president of “The Club,” Ferren (1905-1970) is rightly considered a founder of the New York School and the Abstract Expressionist movement. However, his contributions eclipse this narrow but exalted definition. He was one of the only painters of the New York School to have been part of the Parisian Avant-garde and Gertrude Stein’s inner circle.
The From Paris to Springs focuses on Ferren’s work from the 1950s and 1960’s but includes earlier and later work for context. Attention is focused on the 1950’s “Vase paintings” (works prompting Elaine de Kooning to self-importantly accuse Ferren of “betraying” the group) and the grounded abstractions of the 1960s. Ferren experimented with composition, style, and technique, but held true to his view of Abstract Expressionism, saying “It wasn’t a style; it wasn’t a way of working; it was an attitude toward art and the artist and his place in society.”
Bran Ferren, son of the artist, commented “I am very excited to be working with Findlay Galleries on this exceptional exhibition of my dad’s paintings. It strikes me that the time is right for the re-exploration of his diverse body of work, and the re-affirmation of his significant contributions to an important and dynamic period of art history.”
Findlay Chairman and CEO James Borynack noted, “we are honored to represent and collaborate with the Ferren Estate. This exhibition will return John Ferren’s work to the spotlight, where it belongs, and help further the recognition of his profound contributions to this important movement of art history.”
Beginning in the 1930’s, Ferren’s work was exhibited in museums and prestigious galleries, including Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century Gallery and the groundbreaking “9th Street Art Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture” exhibition in 1952. His work is in countless museums including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.