Paintings by Irving Kriesberg
Irving Kriesberg (1919–2009) was an American painter whose work combined elements of Abstract Expressionism with figurative elements of human and animal forms.
In 1945 Irving Kriesberg moved to New York City and had numerous solo and group exhibitions. His entry into the international art scene came when Dorothy Miller, curator of the Museum of Modern Art included Kriesberg in the landmark 1952 exhibition “15 AMERICANS” at MoMA. The ‘15 AMERICANS’ exhibition included Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko, and others.
Where hard-line Abstract Expressionists shunned figural elements in their work, Irving Kriesberg used them lavishly. As a result, he was often called a Figurative Expressionist; the term applied to midcentury Expressionists whose work was not strictly abstract.
But as often as not, Mr. Kriesberg’s work transcended category. Though it teemed with figures — frogs, birds, people, angels and much else — it was anything but representational. Normally small creatures tower and loom, dancers weave through space at unorthodox angles, and customarily static objects appear fluid and sinuous. All these things gave his work a sense of wit and mystery.