Statement

May 12, 1951-October 10, 2009

Carl Planksy, artist, teacher, paint maker, was a resident of East Meredith and Brooklyn, NY. Born in Miami Beach, Carl moved to New York in 1970 to attend Hans Hofmann's New York Studio School. He also studied with artist Joan Mitchell, a close personal friend and strong influence on his work. His paintings are drawn from direct observation, and revel in pitch-perfect color, compositional elegance, and highly expressive brushwork. Also a respected and influential teacher, he guided students at many institutions, including a return to the New York Studio School from 2004 to the present. Forever dedicated to the craft of oil painting, he began making small batches of handmade paint in the 1980s for himself and artist friends. This would eventually become Williamsburg Oil Paint, now widely regarded as one of the premier oil paint makers in the world and used by some of the most respected artists working today. Carl believed the only life worth living was based in salvation through individualism. Throughout his life, Carl was intensely committed to the honest, almost cathartic, personal expression found through paint, an idea often at odds with contemporary art world trends. It was a position he found equally frustrating and empowering, as he said recently, "the art world is cool and hip. [I am] too hot and passionate." At the time of his death, Carl had become an esteemed and successful artist on his own terms, without compromise or regret.

Bio

Carl Plansky was born in Miami Beach, Florida in 1951.

Education

1970-71; 74-76

New York Studio School

1969-70

Maryland Institute College of Art

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2004

Oil Paintings, Fischbach Gallery, New York

2002

Still Life, Fischbach Gallery, New York

2001

Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware

2000

Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, New York

Bangs Street Gallery, Provincetown, Massachusetts

1999

The Gallery at R and F, Kingston, New York

Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware

Bangs Street Gallery, Provincetown, Massachusetts

1998

Hobart and William Smith College, Geneva, New York

Recent Works, Perugia, Italy

1996

Hobart and William Smith College, Geneva, New York

Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware

1994

55 Mercer Gallery, New York

Lyons-Weir Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

1993

55 Mercer Gallery, New York

Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware

1992

55 Mercer Gallery, New York

Hobart and William Smith College, Geneva, New York

1990

Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware

1989

Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware

1988

Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware

1981

Postgraduate Center of Psychoanalytical Research, New York

1980

Wesbeth Gallery, New York

Selected Group Exhibitions

2005

40 Years Of The New York Studio School. curated by Jennifer Samet

2005

New Artists, Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC

2004

The Still Life, Fischbach Gallery, New York

2003

Hothouse: Contemporary Flora. New York Academy of Science, New York

Peace, Sideshow, Brooklyn, New York

2001

New York Painters, Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, New York

Artists on the Edge, Yeshiva University Museum, New York

2000

Artists on the Edge, University of New Mexico, Santa Fe

1998

Five New York Artists, Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, New York

1997

Landscapes, The Painting Center, New York

Nude Figuration, The Painting Center, New York

1996

Artworks, Basilico Fine Arts, New York

1995

Thirty Years of Drawing, New York Studio School, New York

Renee Fatouhi, New York

1994

Landscapes, Apex Gallery, New York, Michael Toledo, curator

Pages, 450 Broadway, New York

American Abstraction: A New Decade, Southern Alleghenies Museum Of Art, Loretto, Pennsylvania

Art Discover ‘94, Cooperstown Art Association/Smithy Pioneer Gallery, Cooperstown, New York

Matter Matters, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, Ellen K. Levy, curator

1993

Preview Show, The Painting Center, New York

Figuration ‘93, 55 Mercer Gallery, New York, Susanna Coffey, Curator

Abstracted Reality, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York

Thick and Thin, Islip Arts Museum, Islip, New York

Alumni Show, New York Studio School, New York

1992

Painters, Trenkmann Gallery, New York

Large Drawing, 450 Broadway Gallery, New York

Trees, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Sasama Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

Alumni Show, New York Studio School, New York

1991

Carspecken-Scott Galleries, Wilmington, Delaware

1990

Alumni Show, New York Studio School, New York

1989

Positive I.D., Northern Alleghenies Museum, Pennsylvania

Carenga-Foxley-Leach Gallery, Washington, D.C.

1987

Jack Tilton Gallery, New York

Wilkov-Goldfeder Gallery, New York

Jack Tilton Gallery, New York

1986

50 at 50 West, 50 West Gallery, New York

Jack Tilton Gallery, New York

Lever-Meyerson Gallery, New York

1984

Lucky Strike Gallery, New York

Teaching Experience

2005

Vermont Studio Center, Johnson VT, Guest teacher/Lecturer

2004-2005

New York Studio School, Painting Instructor

2000-2005

Maryland Institute College of Art, Professor of Painting

2000

Art Institute Of Chicago, Visiting Artist

1999

Maryland Institute College of Art, Professor of Painting

Oxbow School of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Professor of Painting

Hoffberger School, Maryland Institute College of Art, Visiting Critic/Lecturer

1998

Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont, Guest Teacher/Lecturer

Bennington College, Visiting Teacher

Smith College, Visiting Teacher

Mid-American College Art Association, Lexington Kentucky

1997

Smith College, Visiting Teacher

Hoffberger School, Maryland Institute College of Art, Visiting Teacher/Lecturer

1996

Bard College, Visiting Lecturer

Oxbow School of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Professor of Painting

Hoffberger School, Maryland Institute College of Art, Visiting Critic/Lecturer

Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois, Visiting Lecturer

Art Institute of Chicago, Artist in Residence

1995

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Visiting Teacher/Lecturer

Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, Visiting Teacher/Lecturer/Critic

Hoffgberger School, Maryland Institute College of Art, Visiting Teacher

Bennington College, Vermont, Visiting Teacher

1994

Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, Visiting Lecturer

State University of New York at Purchase, Visiting Lecturer

Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, Visiting Lecturer

Oxbow School of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Professor of Painting

1993

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Lecturer

Parsons School of Art Graduate Program, New York, Visiting Critic

The Cooper Union, New York, Visiting Critic

1992

Hobart and William Smith College, Geneva, New York, Visiting Lecturer

Oxbow School of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Professor of Painting

The Cooper Union, New York, Visiting Critic

1990

Guild Hall, East Hampton, New York, Lecturer

Press

Selected Bibliography

• Balazs, Eszter. “Land Of Light And A Lack Of Cynicism”, The Budapest Sun, September, 2005
• Perl, Jed. “The Beauty Trap”, The New Republic, November, 2004
• Art listings review, New York Times, January 19, 2003.
• Esplund, Lance. “Carl Plansky At Fischbach Gallery”, Art In America, 2003
• Perl, Jed. Eyewitness: Reports From an Art World in Crisis, New York: Basic Books, 2000.
• Maronate, Jan. “Reseaux de partage de saviors techniques et practiques artistiques: la conception et l’appropriation par les artistes des mediums synthetiques en Ameriques du Nord”, Techne, no.8 (1998)
• Solomon, Debra. “Ingredients for Success: Group Pigments and Linseed Oil”, The New York Times, September 23, 1998.
• Cooper, Michael. “A Mix Master: His Art Lies in Paint Itself”, The New York Times, July 25, 1995
• Creevy,Bill. The Oil Painting Book, New York:Watson-Guptil, 1994.
• Perl, Jed. “Earth”, The New Republic, November 14, 1994.
• Savage, Tom. “Carl Plansky”, Cover Magazine, April 1993.
• Appearances (Spring 1992), reproductions (three pages)
• Perl, Jed. “Breakthrough, Idyll, Icon, Allegory”, The New Criterion, May, 1992.
• Perl, Jed. “The Art Nobody Knows”, The New Republic, October 19, 1992.
• Artists in New York, NHK Television, Tokyo, 1991.
• Enders, Alexandra. “Carl Plansky”, Art and Antiques, November 1990.