Steuart Pittman
Balthazar, 2015
Oil on canvas with bass frame, 23 x 19″, Framed
Courtesy of the artist and Traywick Contemporary
MARKET VALUE: $2,800
LIVE AUCTION! Join us and bid by buying a ticket for our April 6 gala. Bid sheets are also up at the gallery if you would like to visit and place a bid in advance. Or you can contact claire@kala.org for a proxy bid form.
Surprising and often playful color choices, flat painting style, and constructed frames are signature elements of Pittman’s unique approach. The distinct frames act as a perimeter that both contains and informs the work, while pointing to painting as object making. Each composition contains deliberately asymmetrical and hand-drawn shapes set against flat backgrounds of color, which seem informal but are in fact created from precise layering. Pittman’s shape and palette inspirations vary from 50s guitar colors, to California skate and surf culture, to the architecture of his Oakland neighborhood.
Steuart Pittman received an MFA from Mills College in 2009 along with the esteemed Jay DeFeo MFA award. Other notable recognition includes the Peter S. Reed Foundation Award in Painting in 2016 as well as nominations for the SFMoMA SECA Award and TOSA Studio Award.
