JOHN GRILLO (American, b. 1917). Forces # 4, 1961. Oil on canvas. 41-3/4 x 50 inches (106.0 x 127 cm). Signed and dated ...

Description

JOHN GRILLO (American, b. 1917)
Forces # 4, 1961
Oil on canvas
41-3/4 x 50 inches (106.0 x 127 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: Grillo / 61

PROVENANCE:
Bertha Schaefer Gallery, New York;
Private collection, New York.

Born in 1917, Grillo was an architect of the Post-War Abstract Expressionist movement on the West Coast. His explosive action paintings are rich in color and movement. In 2001, Grillo said, "Abstract painting is on a level with music. It's a physical outburst from your whole being. It's not the idea that is created and then you start painting. It's always a challenge to shape something from nothing, to do the impossible."

During World War II, Grillo enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Okinawa, where he remained until it ended in 1946. Under the GI Bill, he enrolled in the San Francisco School of Fine Arts where he studied with Richard Diebenkorn, Clyfford Still, Frank Lobdell, Jorge Goya, Edward Dugmore, and Mark Rothko.

In 1948, Grillo left San Francisco for New York and enrolled in the Hans Hoffmann School of Arts. There he initially worked in watercolors and progressed to oils on canvas. Inspired by Hoffmann's love of color, Grillo developed a brighter palette with an emphasis on yellow. Donald Judd reviewed a 1960 exhibition and noted, "all the paintings in this exhibition are yellow and have the splendor of sunlight." Forces #4, from the same period, consists of circular and rectangular shapes dispersed throughout a yellow field of color. Some of the shapes appear to be resting on top, some appear to be cutting across it, and some appear to be emerging from underneath, resulting in a chaotic sense of movement.

More information about JOHN GRILLO. See also: Grillo, John, John Grillo Artist.



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