Reductive prints, chiaroscuro, & storytelling! Oh my!

Kees Van Dongen

Kees Van Donegn was a dutch painter born in 1877 near Rotterdam. When he turned sixteen Van Dongen began studying art the Rotterdam Academy for Fine Arts. He eventually moved to Paris where he got married in 1901 but was later divorced in 1921. He was a socially butterfly of the city, he threw extravagant parties and to which all the local celebrities attended and lived a lavish Bohemian lifestyle. As part of the Fauves, of the "Wild beasts" he is known for his expressive use of color and brushstrokes. Van Dongen also participated in the German expressionist group Die Burcke, or "The Bridge", with Eric Heckel, Ernst Ludwig and others. He eventually died in 1968 at the age of 91, after a long and successful career.

Judy Pfaff

Judy Pfaff was born in 1946 in London, England and moved to America when she was thirteen where she lived in Detroit before attending Cass technical High School. She eventually went on to study at Washington University and received her master's degree in fine arts from Yale. Pfaff started showing her work in the 1970's as she was finishing up grad school and since then has had hundreds of shows, gaining both national and international acclaim. As an installation artist, sculptor, painter, and print maker, Pfaff moves between mediums easily as she moves between 2d and 3d thinking and forms of art. Pfaff has received many accolades and prestigious honors for her work and was most recently awarded the MacArthur Fellowship in 2004. She currently lives and works in New York city.