Gertrude Stein:
About Boris Lurie (1963)
for Boris Lurie Show at
Gallery Gertrude Stein
New York 1963
The work of Boris Lurie is powerful stuff. He feels that the ivory tower cannot substitute for real involvement in life; art is an instrument of influence and stimulation. He does not want to converse, he shouts out loud, so that everyone understands.
He takes as his symbol the “girly” picture, America's home-grown brand of pornography. Repudiating conventional manners, he shakes up the viewer; at any cost he strives to make us take heed of our reality, Lurie forces upon us the bitter vision of the cruelly smiling, heartless advertising pin-up girl. Her picture hangs in the locker rooms; it teases the “tired business man” who surreptitiously stuffs a copy of Playboy into his attache case; movie stars become commodities to be measured in inches, the dreams of America. Our environment is polluted with sick eroticism and callous indifference.
“NO” appears in Lurie's paintings: NO! NO! NO! to the accepted, the cruelty, the desperation and despair which prevails, to conformism and the materialistic. It is a strong "NO" in a flood of mass-produced "YESSES". And so: he tears the pin-ups; he tosses them down on his canvas to fall where they may. His stunning statement has been made.
Published in the flyer for the Boris Lurie show at Gallery Gertrude Stein, New York, 1963
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ABOUT GERTRUDE STEIN: Ms Stein received her B.S. from the City University of New York where she majored in Art and Literature. She has also studied at the Art Students League, the New York School of Social Work and the New School for Social Research. She is the Founder of the Gallery Gertrude Stein where some of the exhibitions she has created over the year include; Balthus, Wolf Vostell, Erro, D’Arcangelo, Sam Goodman, Weldon Kees, NO! Art – artists, and Russian Diaspora artists. The Gallery: Gertrude Stein hosted the first uptown exhibit of Boris Lurie and the NO! Artists. Ms Stein is also a donor to many museums including, The Museum of Modern Art, The Pennsylvania Academy among many other. She has also lent paintings and sculptures from her personal collection to world class museums overseas and in the United States of America. Ms Stein is a consultant and dealer in significant art works with collectors and museums over a period of many year and is a member of the Appraisers Association of America. MsStein also has a keen interest in Social Work and has worked as a Program Director for the New York City Department of Welfare, running Arts programs for Senior Citizen Centers and Senior Citizen Clubs including; Hodson Center, Bronx, Sinovich Center, Manhattan, Brooklyn Settlement House, Chelsea Settlement House and Chinese Settlement House. ►more
