Pat Steir (American, 1940)
The Tree After Hiroshige, 1984
Color etching 34 1/2 x 45 1/2 in. Print: 32 x 43 in.; 34 ¾ x 45 ¾ framed
Pat Steir's abstract paintings and prints display textured areas of color and line that emphasize the synergy between her chosen materials and the performative act of making art. Initially aligned with the Conceptual and Minimalist art movements, Steir came to embrace a wide range of influences including Buddhist and Taoist philosophy, Chinese “ink-splash painting,” and 19th-century Japanese woodblock prints. John Cage’s avant-garde ideas of non-intention and chance are central to her work.
A skilled printmaker, Steir has created etchings and lithographs since the 1970s, delving into subjects that include waves, waterfalls, and trees in works that reference Eastern and Western art historical traditions. In The Tree After Hiroshige, Steir bases her imagery on three distinct representations of trees created by the 19th-century Japanese artist Hiroshige (Fig. 1, 2, 3). According to Steir, “I want to show people ways of seeing, not only [how] artists see, but [how] artists see through time and place.” For Steir, the work offers viewers a way to look at traditional Japanese art through the contemporary eyes of an experimental American artist.
Steir has taught art at Parsons School of Design, Princeton University, and the California Institute of the Arts. She is a founding board member of Printed Matter bookshop, a founding member of HERESIES: A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics, and was on the editorial board of Semiotext(e), an independent journal of critical theory, philosophy, and art criticism. Steir has won several major awards and her works are represented in private and public national and international collections.
More information on Pat Steir can be found here:
https://www.levygorvy.com/exhibitions/pat-steir/
https://paceprints.com/video/pat-steir-printmaking-painting-chance-and-beauty