Ben Schonzeit
Yankee Flame, from America: the Third Century , 1975
This hand-signed, numbered and dated collotype in colors by photorealist pioneer artist Ben …
A pioneer of the Photorealist movement, Ben Schonzeit has been recognized by the legendary art dealer Louis Meisel—who himself named the movement—as one of the 13 original Photorealists. Among artists such as Chuck Close and Richard Estes, Schonzeit helped develop the movement and pioneered the addition of the airbrush. Since the 1970s, the Brooklyn-born artist has used this tool and depiction of his subject matter to distinguish himself from other Photorealists; his skill with the airbrush results in an unrivaled perfection in his paintings, often enhanced by traditional brushstrokes. His eventual use of a polyester canvas and has led to smooth, viscerally realistic paintings, which contain perfectly rendered arrangements—often brightly colored arrays of fruits, vegetables, and sweets—that are intentionally slightly out of focus.
This hand-signed, numbered and dated collotype in colors by photorealist pioneer artist Ben Schonzeit was created in 1975 for the portfolio America: the Third Century, commissioned by Mobil Oil Corporation in which 13 American artists, including Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist and …
A pioneer of the Photorealist movement, Ben Schonzeit has been recognized by the legendary art dealer Louis Meisel—who himself named the movement—as one of the 13 original Photorealists. Among artists such as Chuck Close and Richard Estes, Schonzeit helped develop the movement and pioneered the addition of the airbrush. Since the 1970s, the Brooklyn-born artist has used this tool and depiction of his subject matter to distinguish himself from other Photorealists; his skill with the airbrush results in an unrivaled perfection in his paintings, often enhanced by traditional brushstrokes. His eventual use of a polyester canvas and has led to smooth, viscerally realistic paintings, which contain perfectly rendered arrangements—often brightly colored arrays of fruits, vegetables, and sweets—that are intentionally slightly out of focus.
