|
JOSEPH
RAFFAEL
|
Joseph Raffael,
Along the Way, 2000, watercolor on paper, 41 x 68 inches |
|
Joseph Raffael was born in Brooklyn in 1933. He received his B.F.A. from
Yale University and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Florence and Rome
in 1958-59 and a Tiffany Fellowship in 1960. He resides in France. |
Joseph Raffael,
MORNING AT KODAI, 2000,
watercolor on paper, 67 x 45 inches |
Joseph Raffael,
23 NOVEMBER, 1997,
watercolor on paper, 84 x 58 inches |
| Raffael's
new paintings are an on-going celebration of nature and the spirit of life's
force as manifest in the movement of fish and ducks in water or lilies floating
on the surface of a pond. The watercolors demand more of the artist in their
complexity. |
Joseph Raffael,
MILLENNIUM, 2000,
watercolor on paper, 45 x 67 inches |
| His
large and luminous watercolors venture into new territories of color, juxtaposing
glowing gold with deep mysterious rich blues and greens. His often written
about "jewel-like" passages are richer now than ever. Crystal-clear
blue butts up against azure, purple against emerald green against shining
black, a splendor of bubbling, moving paint. |
Joseph Raffael,
MYSTERY ETERNAL, 1999,
watercolor on paper, 83 x 69 inches |
| While
heralding that which is beautiful in nature, the artist also invites the
viewer into a meditation, a heightened awareness and appreciation for nature's
abundance. Pursuing his love of and for nature, and exploring deeper into
its mysteries, Raffael takes the viewer to a new, more complex, heightened
place with his monumental scale watercolors. |
Joseph Raffael,
ILLUMINATION II, 1998,
watercolor on paper, 70 x 45 inches |
To
capture the essence of what the eye cannot always see, Raffael probes the
secrets of nature's private and splendid moments. From his larger-than-life
dramatic flowers to koi filled with light, shimmer and motion in his own,
newly-created koi pond, the artist heightens our senses to the world "outside."
Several of the artist's watercolors are diptychs. For Raffael, working on
more than one piece of paper represents a continuum of art history. From
the Renaissance altarpieces with panels and predellas, the artist draws
his interest and his commitment to multi-panelled pieces, sometimes screens
(including five or more panels), at other times diptychs.
Signed copies of Joseph Raffael's book entitled "Reflections
of Nature: Paintings by Joseph Raffael," written by Donald Kuspit
and Amei Wallach, published by Abbeville Press, are available through Nancy
Hoffman Gallery.
JOSEPH RAFFAEL's Biography |
Joseph Raffael,
DUSK AT KODAI, 2000, watercolor on paper, 64 x 88 inches
|
 |
|
