Modernist Pittsburgh @ Concept Gallery Highlights Local Art & Design in the 1940's & 50's

Pittsburgh in 1941 was more on the cutting edge of industry than art till a young woman named Elizabeth Rockwell changed that by opening, Outlines Gallery exposing the city to Alexander Calder, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Paul Klee, Charles Eames and others.

Carnegie Tech professor, Samuel Rosenburg moved towards abstraction, helping to mentor other local artists.

Concept's exhibit seems to center on Rosenburg's 1950's abstractions, but includes contemporaries and students like Louise Pershing, Glen Davis & Marie Tuicillo Kelly..Images also show a lot of amazing modernist furniture.

Modernist Pittsburgh

July 17- September 20th 

Tuesday – Saturday: 10 AM – 5:30 PM
Thursday: 10 AM – 8PM

Concept Art Gallery

1031 South Braddock Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15218

Read Kurt Shaw's review: 

A documentary about Elizabeth Rockwell, Outlines Gallery & modernism in Pittsburgh will be screened
Thursday, August 21, 7PM  @ The Regent Square Theater  

Closing Reception for A Painters Legacy: The Students of Samuel Rosenberg @ Pittsburgh JCC April 30, 6-8

Seima Horvitz, Seima’s Family Seder, undated, oil on canvas, 32 1/2 x 42 inches, private collection

A last chance to see this truly amazing show at the JCC on Saturday. I know it's a full day but you will be sorry if you miss this. Also, the opening proved to be a great gathering of Pittsburgh's older generation of artists, many of whom studied under Rosenberg.

"A Painter’s Legacy is an expansive exhibit comprised of the rich and diverse work of individual artists taught and influenced by Samuel Rosenberg. A professor at Carnegie Mellon University (formerly Carnegie Institute of Technology) for 40 years and at the Young Men & Women’s Hebrew Association for 39 years, Rosenberg is credited with directly influencing four successive generations of artists. The exhibit underscores his students’ artistic achievements that, combined, span more than half a century and reflect the major art movements of the latter half of the 20th century."

Some press from the show

Post Gazette

Pop City

Pittsburgh Tribune Review

The Jewish Chronicle

Pitt News

CMU : The Tartan

From the Tartan,

"Although his famous pupils are impressive, equally impressive is the sheer number of his students and how loyal they still remain to Rosenberg. “The kind of person he was, as well as the kind of professor he was, in addition to the number of artists not only in Pittsburgh but really all throughout the United States, and their continual loyalty to him made [creating the exhibit] a pretty easy process for me to take up,” Hiller said. “People who studied with Samuel Rosenberg completely understand and are honored by the historical approaches and curatorial projects that people like me have, so all I really had to do was introduce myself and discuss the [exhibit] ... people were so generous because they still have such a love for Rosenberg.”

The exhibit is made up of 76 works of art from over 50 of his students, with only one of Rosenberg’s paintings. “The concept [of the exhibit] is to show his teaching style and what he taught the students who were in his class, so it’s an exhibition that’s a balance of showing him as a teacher, but showing the artwork by the students, both from Carnegie Mellon University as well as [the YM&WHA],” Hiller explained."

Exhibition Website

Sadly, this exhibit failed to get any of the national attention it deserved.

5738 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
p 412-521-8010

A Painter's Legacy: The Students Of Samuel Rosenberg @JCC

Samuel Rosenberg was a great Pittsburgh artist, who in spite of being widely shown here, still is under appreciated. This show at the Pittsburgh JCC looks into his other, perhaps greater legacy as a teacher and influence on hundreds of artists.

As a student at Pratt in NY, I was taught basic drawing and printmaking by Rosenberg student, George Nama.

My one gripe about this show, which includes so much great work, is that it still barely scratches the surface. This was a show for The Miller Gallery; The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts or even better The Warhol, since Andy also was a student. I mean--you need the whole Warhol.

“I could spend the rest of my curatorial career grouping these works together,” said Hiller, the AJM’s director. “I could do that for the next 30 years.”

The number of possible artists who could have been tapped for the exhibition is seemingly endless: “A Painter’s Legacy” taps only a fraction of Rosenberg’s students, whether they painted with him at the Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University), the Irene Kaufmann Settlement in the Hill District or the Y in Oakland."

A few highlights of the show, which included lots of loans from museums, artists and artist estates included works by Abe Weiner, Jane Haskell, George Nama, Philip Pearlstein, Aaronel deRoy Gruber, Marie Kelly and Milton Weiss. A nice addition are informative labels and quotes from artists.

Again from The Jewish Chronicle,

Though Rosenberg was an active painter from 1915 to 1972 and taught countless students, there was no resulting “Rosenbergian school,” in terms of style, said Hiller. “That would’ve been antithetical to Rosenberg, or to any good professor who wants to teach students how to have confidence in their own style.”

A Painter’s Legacy: The Students of
Samuel Rosenberg

Open through April 30

Opening reception, March 13, 1 to 3 p.m.

Fine Perlow Weis Gallery and Berger Gallery

American Jewish Museum, Jewish

Community Center

Read more

POP City

The Jewish Chronicle