Link to Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seed/hassel-smith-a-free-spiri_b_2545493.html
John Seed blogs about the painter Hassel Smith (1915-2007) on the occasion of an exhibition of Smith's work at Weinstein Gallery, San Francisco and the publication of a new monograph on the artist edited by Petra Giloy-Hirtz.
Seed writes: "Smith first gained notice as a representational painter in the 1940s: his works from that period have an energy and graphic insistence that predicts some of the qualities of the Bay Area Figurative style that his friend David Park would pioneer a few years later. In the 50's Smith -- who was very close to Clyfford Still -- developed the feisty calligraphic abstract paintings that earned him his reputation as an 'underground legend.' ...The peripatetic life that followed after Smith left Los Angeles -- he was back and forth between California and England for many years -- combined with his constant stylistic tinkering, meant that the art world never quite managed to get a read on Smith during his lifetime."
Link to Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seed/hassel-smith-19152007-the_b_811454.html
John Seed looks at the interesting life and work of under-known artist Hassel Smith. Smith worked in several majors styles of painting both abstract and figurative throughout a tumultuous career. Hassel Smith: Upending Orthodoxy is on view at Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara through April 3, 2011.
