The Painting Report: Sonia Gechtoff
Sonia Gechtoff, “The Chase” (1959), oil on canvas, 72 x 72 inches, © Sonia Gechtoff Estate; photo: Yao Zu Lu
Sonia Gechtoff is a painter who continually explored shifting relationships between abstraction and figuration. Born in 1926 (d. 2018) she achieved early success on the west coast with a solo show at the de Young Museum, showing along side Clyfford Still, Frank Lobdell, Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, and John Altoon in LA. She attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was included in the Guggenheim’s Younger American Painters show in 1954 with William de Kooning, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Jackson Pollock.
Sonia Gechtoff, “Moon Rising” (1989), acrylic on canvas, 60.25 x 40.25 inches, © Sonia Gechtoff Estate; photo: Yao Zu Lu
Gechtoff sites Clyfford Still as an influence and I can clearly see it her shapes and application of paint. However, there is something more in her work, something that maybe Still’s paintings lack. She manages to produce a compelling tension in her images. Mixing styles, she moves between abstraction and figuration. I can feel the forces that underly her imagery; waves, fire, spherical shapes that suggest planets. Tension is layered further when carefully modeled forms explode into areas of expressive marks from the palette knife and brush. For me this delicate balance make Gechtoff’s paintings compelling and keeps me coming back for more. Her influences also include music, opera, classical, and especially Wagner and the Ring Cycle.
If you are unfamiliar with Sonia Gechtoff, I encourage you to continue to explore her work. Her work is currently being shown at David Richard Gallery (211 East 121st Street, Harlem, Manhattan) Forces of Nature on the Grand Stage: Paintings from 1988 to 1995 through October 26. The gallery has also produced a free online catalog.
Additional Reading:
https://www.davidrichardgallery.com/Exhibit_Detail.cfm?ShowsID=485
https://hyperallergic.com/521757/a-forgotten-painter-and-her-visionary-abstraction