Gallery Talk: A Life in Art: Modernism, Mexico, Cape Cod; Sculpture and Painting by Milton Teichman

Curated by William Hemmerdinger, this exhibition highlights Teichman’s multiple influences and his range as an artist.

Exhibition Curator William Hemmerdinger’s statement:
“Teichman’s role models have been the towering figures of Modern Art, from Picasso to Brancusi to Motherwell.  Their economy and imagination in the handling of form, space, color and composition continue to intrigue him.  During the winter months, he has found inspiration in art colonies in Oaxaca and San Miguel, Mexico.  His color palettes and sculptural forms show the influence of Mexico.  The twenty years Teichman has spent on Cape Cod show the impact of the landscape in his work.  In the modernist manner, he abstracts scenes of ocean, bays, and marshes, treats his subjects sparely, and chooses “poetic” rather than naturalistic color.

The 35 pieces in this show represent a selection from a large and impressive body of work.  They illustrate the high level of experimentation and exploration that characterizes Teichman’s work.  In addition to exercising his ideas and skills in painting and sculpture, he experiments with collage and assemblage.  In sculpture, he works in bronze, clay, wood, sheet brass, styrofoam, paper, and found objects.

The selection of works in this exhibition reflect three major influences on Milton’s work—twentieth-century Modernism, the art of Mexico, and the landscape of Cape Cod. The central feature of modernism is its capacity to pare down experience into essentials of form, color, composition, line, and volume. Although such uniqueness and brevity takes many directions, for me, the spectacular work Invented Alphabet (1964), shown here for the first time, exemplifies the spirit of the modern-era.”