Artist Research Assignment

Robert Mangold

Robert Mangold was born in North Tonawanda, New York in 1937. He received a BFA and MFA from Yale University in 1963. He uses classical restraint and translates the most basic of formal elements, for example shape, line, and color, into paintings, prints, and drawings. The simplicity of form expresses complex ideas. Using hand drawn graphite lines, Mangold renders the surface of each canvas with subtle color modulations and sinewy. He focuses on formal considerations that seem paramount, and also enjoys giving the viewer some problem to solve through his artwork. Over the course of years of being a contemporary artist, he has allowed viewers to envision and explore the idea of paintings without centers. He uses variations of rings, columns, trapezoids, arches, and crosses to shape his paintings. In addition to his works on paper, and canvases, Mangold has also worked with stained glass for architectural projects. He has been inducted into the National Academy in 2005, and American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001. Mangold has received many awards including the Jawlensky-Preis der Stadt Wiesbaden Award, the Skowhegan Medal for Painting, and a National Endowment for the Arts Grant. His work has appeared in major exhibitions at Documenta in 1972, 1977, and 1982, in the Whitney Biennial in 1979, 1983, 1985, and 2004, and in the Venice Biennale in 1993. Mangold’s works are in the public collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; J. Paul Getty Trust; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and Whitney Museum of American Art, along with numerous other places. Mangold lives and works in Washingtonville, New York.
I really enjoyed looking at Mangold's paintings because they have a very modern appearance. I specifically enjoy the bright colors, and squiggly lines that are placed through each of his pieces of art.