Robert Courtright

 

Masks

 

Collages


   


Years ago, chancing upon a shop displaying paper masks copied from the comedia dell'arte, Robert Courtright began to think about faces. Over the years these faces have evolved into his Masks series - which he executes both in cast bronze and cast paper. He constantly plays with the "faceness" of these faces, altering them through imaginative and resourceful manipulation of collage and paint. Some of his masks sport tiny eyes - or a round O of a mouth - or eyebrows impressed into his material. There are humorous masks, decorous masks, austere masks - whatever he has used for his mold affects the end result.


His cast paper collages are a visual mutation between imprint and drawing. These collages , voluntarily austere and without needless hyperbole , reassure and please the viewer by their imaginative construction and discerning use of color.


Arranging the components of his collages to reveal subtle permutations of hues and texture, these stacked, rectangles, resembling architectural forms, explore and create a unique plastic pictorial reading. They are like the surfaces of buildings or like tile terraces made vertical.

Selected One Person Exhibitions

  • 2003 Kouros Gallery, New York
  • 1998 Galerie Jean-Jacques Dutko, Paris, France
  • 1997 Kouros Gallery, New York
  • 1995 Gallery Grimaldis, Baltimore, Maryland
  • 1995 Kouros Gallery, New York
  • 1993 Galerie Nichido, Tokyo, Japan
  • 1993 Kouros Gallery, New York
  • 1989 Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York
  • 1989 Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, California
  • 1988 Galerie Tobias Hirschman, Frankfurt, Germany
  • 1988 Galerie Joachim Becker, Cannes, France
  • 1984 Galerie Cathrine Issert, St. Paul de Vence, France
  • 1983 Fairweather Hardin Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
  • 1983 Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York
  • 1979 Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York
  • 1969 Clune Gallery, Sydney, Australia
  • 1968 Richard Feigen Gallery, New York
  • 1964 Hanover Gallery, London, Great Britain
  • 1963 Galerie du Fleuve, Paris, France
  • 1951 New Gallery, New York

Selected Public Collections

  • Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut
  • Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza, Lugano, Switzerland
  • Musée de l’Art Moderne & de l’Art Contemporaine, Nice, France
  • San Franscisco Museum of Modern Art, San Franscisco, California
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
  • The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.