Twin Trees, Albert York

CRITIQUE OF THE WEEK #4

Albert York

(Long Island , New York )

Twin Trees

oil on canvas mounted on masonite

10 7/8” x 10 ½”

1962

Albert York's Twin Trees expresses subtle emotions through his intimate and sensitive use of visual language.

Much like the painter Giorgio Morandi (1890-1962), York is a master at imbuing modest subject matter with expressive qualities. Ordinary forms are distilled and handled in such a way that transforms them into surrogates for emotional states.

On the surface, the painting appears to be about little more than what you see: two trees in the upper half and a pond in the lower half. Shape and color dominate. But, obviously, there's much more going on.

Focus on the two tree forms themselves that look like two rounded, voluptuous notes set in a simple rhythm against the light sky. You might think of these forms as symbolic of actors on a stage, people in a relationship, or coexisting emotional states. Whatever your interpretation, the two forms relate to one another in a moving fashion. The tree on the right takes the lead because of its scale and closer proximity to the viewer. (York reinforces this status by underscoring it with a reflection in the pond.) This sturdy, grounded tree leans ever so gently toward its companion that is situated further back and higher up on the horizon line. The companion tree echoes the gesture, leaning gently on a diagonal to the right as if listening. The two are joined by the common ground of the earth beneath them that fills the lower half of the painting.

While this intimate relationship between tree forms is the most obvious formal occurrence, York makes more subtle choices regarding shape and color that lend mood to the piece. Three dominant shapes in the design—two trees and a pond—repeat an egg-shaped motif. Even the reflection in the pond is a variation of the motif—an egg shape cropped and turned on its side. This repetition lends more unity to the composition. All of the shapes are soft-edged and gently articulated. They vibrate with life, lending the design a feeling of quiet animation.

York's limited palette also adds to the piece's inherent sensitivity. The main components are dark greens in the trees and ground plane that contrast with neutral grays in the sky and pond. All is quiet and serene with no highly saturated color or extreme value contrasts. However, if you look closely, there are hints of rich red and orange contained within the green passages, resulting in greens that vary subtly from warm to cold (notice the dispersed bits of maroon throughout and notes of warm/dull red-orange here and there). As you study this painting, you will discover an underlying richness and intensity emanating from a seemingly tranquil world.

Steven Aimone

author of DESIGN! A Lively Guide to Design Basics for Artists and Craftspeoplel

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THIS EXCITING BOOK!

(The Critique of the Week is edited by Katherine Duncan AImone)

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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES:

Albert York (b. 1928) lives on Long Island, New York and paints small-scale landscape, floral, and figurative compositions. Well known and revered by New York artists and collectors, York has been exhibiting at the prestigious gallery of Davis & Langdale in New York since the early 1960s (his most recent solo exhibition occurred in 2004). His works are included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA); Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, OH); The Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford, CT); The Parrish Art Museum (Southampton, NY); Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery (Lincoln, NE).

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My thanks to Davis & Langdale for their permission to use the imagery displayed here. - S.A.

For more information on Albert York's work,

contact the gallery at:

Davis & Langdale

231 E 60

New York , NY 10022

212-838-0333

davisandlangdale@earthlinnk.net