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Item #AT-0489


Valdi S. Maris (1919-1993)"South River" Oil on Canvas



Description:


"South River"
Oil on Canvas
24" x 30" Unframed
31" x 37" Framed
Signed lower right
Verso gallery label, The Guild, Shrewsbury, NJ

Provenance:
The Guild, Shrewsbury, NJ
Private Collection Interlaken NJ

This is a wonderful modern abstract landscape of the river South River in the New Brunswick area of New Jersey. Wonderful colors and texture with thick impasto. Painted in the early 1960's.



Valdi S. Maris was born Maris Valdemars Sielnieks on September 4, 1919, in Riga, Latvia. A beautiful coastal town along the gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Baltic Sea. He studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts, Riga, Latvia, and the University of Heidelberg, in Heidelberg, Germany.
He met Helene Roze in Riga, Latvia, and she became his wife. They moved to the United States and settled in New York City, where he changed his name to Valdi S. Maris. While living in the city, he became friends with many artists, including Salvador Dalν and Jackson Pollack. He and his wife, Helene, later moved to New Jersey and settled in New Brunswick.


His preferred media were oils, acrylics, and mixed media. His strong brushwork, use of vivid colors, and thick impasto are evident in all his works. He painted rich abstract landscapes, colorful still life, and layered cityscapes. Every inch of the canvas is covered in energetic detail and movement. His work is modern but timeless. He was known to paint many of his works around his home in New Jersey.

Maris had an extensive exhibition history, including five exhibitions at the Montclair Art Museum, NJ (1954–63), the Jersey City Museum, NJ (1956–57), and the 50th Anniversary Opening of the Newark Art Museum (1959). He toured the United States with his one-man show "Maris USA Traveling" in the years 1963–65. Others include International Platform Assn. Convention Art Shows, Washington, DC (1967–68 and 1971), Bresler-Eitel Gallery, Milwaukee, WI (1970), The Academy Tommaso Campanella, Rome (1970), and Monmouth County Library, Shrewsbury, NJ (1971).


He was the recipient of many awards, including an honorary diploma and silver medal from the Academy Tommaso Campanella in Rome and the National Starch & Chem. Award, 1972. He was an art critic for Home News, Brunswick, NJ (1957–1965) and an instructor of art in his private studio, as well as a lecturer, demonstrator, and instructor at the Guild in Shrewsbury, NJ, where he was a member in 1960–65. He was involved in teaching art to students at the Art Youth Festival in Trenton, NJ, in 1972. His work can be found in the East Brunswick Public Library and in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

He passed away on November 22, 1993.

















































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