Transcendence

Description

American painter Richard Mayhew, who recently celebrated his 95th birthday, has been reinventing landscape painting for over half a century. He's known for his masterful use of colour and for his unique creative process, inspired by improvisational jazz, which involves pouring paint directly onto the canvas and shaping it into lush, emotional 'moodscapes.' His distinctive style also emerges from his immersion in the Abstract Expressionist movement, his African American and Native American heritage, and his unique affinity for the landscapes of the American West. But his paintings transcend boundaries of location and identity. This monograph features approximately 75 of his most striking works, an exclusive interview with the artist, an introduction by his gallerist Mikaela Sardo Lamarche, and an essay by Andrew Walker, director of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. All this is presented in an affordable off-square hardcover that feels elevated yet accessible.

Born in 1924 and raised in Amityville, New York, Richard Mayhew decided at age 17 that he wanted to be an artist. He moved to New York City in 1951, where he studied at the Brooklyn Museum's school of art and was inspired by the painterly freedom of Abstract Expressionism. Subsequently he studied at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence. In 1963, he joined Spiral, a group formed to discuss the role of African American artists in the political and cultural landscape of America. In addition to working as an artist, Mayhew has had a long career as an educator, teaching at the Brooklyn Museum, the Art Students League, Smith College, and Pennsylvania State University. He retired in 1991 and moved with his wife to Santa Cruz, California, where he continues to paint.