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Art Fair

Celebrating the Birth of Expressionism at a New York City Art Show

Galerie St. Etienne is showing 18 pieces of early Expressionist art in their booth at the Park Avenue Armory this weekend.
Nudes on Carpet, II, 1911, Karl Schmidt-Rotuff. Woodcut on cream Velin paper, 14 3/8 x 16 1/8 in. All images courtesy Galerie St. Etienne

By lining the walls of their booth at The Art Show at the Park Avenue Armory with early Expressionist works, Galerie St. Etienne is infusing art week with a bit of art history. A mix of colorful abstractiondelicate form, and German-bred aesthetic catch viewers' eyes as they scan the gallery's offerings. The inclusion of the works lends a museum-like feel to the massive art fair, which is organized annually by the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA).

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The Expressionist movement, founded in Germany in the early 20th century by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Bleyl, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Erich Heckel, was largely considered to be ahead of its time. Partly a reaction to French Fauvism and inspired by Renaissance-era wood carvings, Expressionism continues to influence many contemporary artists.

Galerie St. Etienne's booth includes works by Heckel, who created many of his pieces while serving in World War I. The then Belgium-based artist wove bright, ebullient color through his landscapes. Born in 1883, Heckel lived through the Expressionist period, during which interest in printmaking and woodcutting mounted in the early 20th century.

The gallery's offering also highlights Emil Nolde, a German-Danish painter, who used a specific Japanese paper known for its absorbency with sopping wet brushes to create romantically diffused paintings. The combination of bright, saturated colors and the dreamy, blurred visual set his works apart from other pieces with more defined line and form. The amiable and soft visage of the female in Nolde's Portrait of a Woman with Dark Hair cast an inevitably dreaminess over the subject.

Take a look at Erich Heckle and Emil Nolde's works, along with other pieces showing Galerie St. Etienne's Art Show booth, below:

Skiers, c. 1919, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Watercolor on paper, 13 1/4 x 10 1/4 in.

Seated Female Nude, without Head, 1918. Egon Schiele. Black crayon on smooth cream paper, 18 1/4 x 11 5/8 in

Nudes on Carpet, II, 1911, Karl Schmidt-Rotuff. Woodcut on cream Velin paper, 14 3/8 x 16 1/8 in

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Flowers, Emil Nolde. Watercolor on Japanese paper, 13 x 17 1/4 in

For more information about Galerie St. Etienne, click here. The Art Show runs at the Park Avenue Armory from March 1 to 5.

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