A generously proportioned and colorful abstract oil-on-canvas by French Jewish émigré painter and sculptor SACHA KOLIN (1911–1981), that embodies the graceful scale, simplified geometry, and smooth, industrial surfaces of early Minimalism. The movement’s legacy asserts that works of art should not refer to anything other than themselves and should omit all extra-visual associations. In a 2008 book, Look Up: The Life and Art of Sacha Kolin, geneaologist-turned-biographer Lisa Thaler chronicles Kolin’s trajectory through New York City’s dynamic mid-century art scene, the artist’s brush with near-success, and her notoriously unwavering commitment to living beyond her means. The title abbreviates that of a Kolin painting, Look Up: The Sun is Shining, and the book is a paean to its subject’s perennial optimism.

SACHA KOLIN (1911–1981) was a gifted, Paris-born, painter and sculptor who emerged as a minor player in New York City’s vibrant mid-20th century art boom. Her work encompassed abstract painting and aeronautically-inspired, Minimalist sculpture. She was born to Ukrainian Jewish parents, Malwina Slobodianiuk and Julius Kolin (ko-LEEN), the latter a mechanical engineering student at Vienna’s Technische Universität who had journeyed to Paris to test his innovative propeller designs at the Laboratoire du Champ-de-Mars, under the supervision of Gustave Eiffel. (His pioneering concepts would find application in aviation and other machinery.) Sacha spent her early years in Vienna, where she studied interior design at the Weiner Kunstgewerbeschule with architect and sculptor Oskar Strnad (1879–1935), as well as sculpture and drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts. She was among the few women allowed to showcase work in the annual exhibitions of the Vienna Secession and the Künstlerhaus.

In 1933 Kolin moved to Paris to study in the atelier of Naoum Aronson (1872–1943), a stone carver for Auguste Rodin who was known principally for his busts of important personages: Beethoven, Pasteur, Tolstoy, Lenin, etc. Kolin’s contemporary sculptures primarily consisted of traditionally expressive busts representing men, women, and children. Her drawings during the period sought to incorporate Rodin’s various techniques for maintaining spontaneity and were characterized by her ability to relate concise yet impactful gestures, a defining feature of her graphic artistry. In 1935, she became the youngest full member of the Nationale Societe des Beaux-Arts.

In December 1936, alarmed by the Nazi persecution of Jews in neighboring Germany, Kolin’s affluent family emigrated to the US, establishing their residence in New York City. They opted for prestigious locations in Manhattan, including Essex House and the Esplanade. Within three months, Kolin showcased her inaugural solo exhibition titled “Modern Sculptures and Sketches” at the P.E.D.A.C. Galleries in Rockefeller Center. At the 1940 New York World’s Fair, she was among 42 émigré artists—including notable figures such as Josef Albers, Werner Drewes, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and Amédée Ozenfant—featured in the exhibition “New Americans of Friendship House.”

From the 1940s onward, Sacha drew inspiration from Native American lore and iconography. She began to integrate elements of native dance into her flat-plane abstract works. During the 1950s, she hosted a color workshop in her New York studio alongside Bauhaus-trained artist Hannes Beckmann (1909–1977), which led her to further explore non-objective artistic style. The artworks she produced during this period, particularly her watercolors, are often compared to those of Kandinsky and Klee, while her later calligraphic drawings and painted sculptures bear resemblance to the works of Arp, Calder, and Miró.

In the 1960s, Sacha showcased her Optical Art paintings, some of which were produced in series of four canvases. While she was skilled in various mediums, she identified primarily as a sculptor. Her three-dimensional creations increasingly adopted geometric forms, often featuring a monochromatic palette and centered around the triangle. This triangular motif, along with titles referencing flight, reflects Sacha’s paternal heritage in aeronautics and her personal history as a refugee during wartime. In 1973, Sacha’s monumental aluminum sculpture Drawing in the Sky #1 was installed at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York, and it remains on outdoor display to this day.

She was a friend of mail artist Ray Johnson (1927–1995) and an early participant in the New York Correspondance [sic] School. Sacha also joined the Artists Equity Association, League of Present Day Artists (serving as Treasurer in 1954), and the National Association of Women Artists. She was the recipient in 1973 of a Mark Rothko Foundation grant award. Her career history includes over 125 solo and group exhibitions, and her work is included in over 70 public and private art collections both in the US and internationally.

Kolin had expensive tastes in food and fashion, and in her later life, when her artwork failed to sell consistently, she struggled to live well on meager means. She fell into debt, borrowing funds to sustain her lifestyle and support her elderly father, or exchanging her artwork for essential goods. The sheer volume of work she produced and distributed in this manner resulted in a decline in its overall value. During the 1970s, motivated by the Tax Reform Act of 1969, Kolin actively engaged in third-party donations to museums. She would persuade curators to issue letters of intent indicating their interest in acquiring her pieces. Subsequently, she would sell a painting at a reduced price to a wealthy collector, who would then donate it to the museum, benefiting from a tax deduction based on the painting’s full value. This practice helped to establish a midcentury market for art donations to university collections, allowing affluent patrons to enjoy tax advantages. (After Kolin’s death, several artists and collectors were prosecuted for this scam.) Kolin bartered artwork for rent with the landlords of successive grand apartments and, with her two large dogs, turned at least one dwelling into a squalid mess. Perhaps accustomed to posh environs, She chose to have her remains dispatched through the crematoria of Manhattan’s Trinity Church.

Kolin’s artwork has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, and it is held in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

DETAILS

Artist – SACHA KOLIN

Period/Year – 1960s

Origin – U.S.A.

Styles/Movements – MINIMALISM; OP ART

Media – OIL

Support – CANVAS

Colors – CANARY, GOLDENROD, SAFFRON

Condition – Excellent vintage condition. May show minor signs of previous ownership and use.

Dimensions – 35" H × 35" W × 1" D