'Biomorphic Abstract' by Sam Provenzano, Mid-Century Modernism, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Whitney, Rochester Museum

Description

Signed lower right, 'Provenzano' for Sam Provenzano (American, 1923-1999) and painted circa 1949.
Exhibited: Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Finger … more Signed lower right, 'Provenzano' for Sam Provenzano (American, 1923-1999) and painted circa 1949.
Exhibited: Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Finger Lakes Exhibition (from label, verso)

Sam Provenzano graduated from Syracuse University in 1949, and furthered his art studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and in Paris. He later studied at the Hans Hofmann School in New York and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Mexico City. Provenzano also studied with notable artists and teachers including Sol LeWitt, Umberta Romano, and Jean Charlot. In addition to his work as a fine artist, Provenzano was also a respected teacher who, in addition to running his own art school, was also appointed Director of the Art Department at San Francisco's Town School.

Over the course of a long career, Sam Provenzano exhibited widely and with success and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards including from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the de Young Museum, the Legion of Honor, the Whitney Museum of Modern Art, and the Huntington Museum among others. His work is held in the permanent collections of numerous national museums including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco (FAMSF), the de Young Museum, Oakland Museum, Rochester Museum Memorial Art Gallery, Museo Italo-Americano (New York), the University Art Museum at Berkeley and the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.

The Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition (RFLX) is Rochester’s oldest and longest-running juried exhibition, focusing on showcasing artists' talents from western and central New York. We are pleased to offer this example from the artist's early period, dating between 1948-1950 when he exhibited at the Rochester Museum. less