Bronx NY Born 1947 Street & Elite Bred
George Schulman Artist Journey
Bronx born 1947 MFA Abstract Expressionist Painter and Collagist George Schulman was front and center historically during New York City’s most creative era. His friends, teachers, mentors' great Masters and Icons of Abstract Expressionism and the Contemporary Art movement, it would take Schulman a lifetime of trial and era passion, courage and grit, to find his own voice; testing his and the boundaries of art.
In the Words of George Schulman
"I have been painting and collaging using fabric, lace, buttons and found objects since a small boy. Painting with white shoe polish on brown shopping bag, Instead of glue., my grandmother and the sweatshop girls across the alley, taught me how to sew. Today, I can make my own lace, use acrylic oils pencils and markers, use 24k Gold Leaf and Palledium adding fabric, lace, novelty and found objects not unlike today, the difference,a steady hand and the use of digital.
Over the past 40+ years I have been very fortunate to have great teachers and mentors help me hone my skills, but it would take years of trial and error to find my voice. My work may appear abstract, but I use plastic 3-D consideration, to create motion images and forms, like a deck of cards are continually shuffled and overlapped, using to give each painting their particular mood. Like poems, I tell my stories, some work taking years to complete.
Using the classic "Golden Ratio", I am very interested in the dimensions and size of each work andthe surface of the work itself. A big consideration is the use of white light and shadow. In regards to color shape and design, I reference Art History, Chiaroscuro,, Islamic and Persian art. Utilizing linear elements in iunique ways. I am continually discovering, taking chances and challenging myself".
The Bronx Series
"The Bronx Series 2008-2011 is a time-capsule, meant to give a voice its to people and their place in time. I referred to newspaper photos and photos taken on site driving around and in Bronx Gang War Zones. I was interested in documenting graffiti made by it's street artists.
To make them my own, I combined digital and hand drawn life drawings, fabricating them into my signature style art of painting and collaging. Graphic signs are my own, telling the stories using very readable stylized symbols. By cutting and gluing, I simplified considering drawing, as well as shape. When the fabric wasn't the right color, I used paint to clarify structure and design".
The Jewish Series
"Thinking about my Jewish heritage, my Great Grandfather a Cantor and Poet, my Grandparents a Bridal Dress Designer and Tailor who made Suits in their Bronx Shop on 3rd Avenue by the L Friday nights after Shul my Grandmother Lena's weekly card game, the smell of hot coffee the assortment of Danish.
Going to the Synagogue where my only child was Bar Mitzvahed, the Rabbi gave me books in both Hebrew and English of the Torah. Observed the script was similar to the linear elements used in my work, adapted Hebrew words and writing into my alphabet of mark–making.
Works on Paper include hand made lace paper , melted wax crayons, magic markers, powdered pigments, ball point pens, graphite pencils, straws, and aluminum foil held together by different binders, until one was indistinguishable from the other".
My Process
"I paint because I love the process. I start by considering the size, subject, surface as well as medium. I push each one as far as I can, using all my past and present experiences, hoping each time it will appear new and fresh. The tricky part is knowing when to stop.
I do my best work when I am uncomfortable. I want my work to be fresh and when it's unfamiliar it gives me an opportunity to be both inventive, through the use of color composition elements, as well as the story I am telling.
My work tells me what to do, I am just the facilitator of the process, it is exhilarating and exciting.. As I developed as an artist, what occurred is I gained visual acuity. Like a dancer, my hands and body become one in the process.
I work without expectation, looking and at times referencing masterworks, I always consider the top, bottom and middle piecing all these parts together. To me it’s like creating a complicated map, design pattern and mark making. After a while the work speaks to me and tell me what to do".