Sidney Gordin

Sidney Alexander Gordin (1918–1996) was a Russian-born American artist and educator, known for his abstract paintings, prints, and sculptures.[1][2][3] He was a Professor Emeritus at University of California, Berkeley, where he taught from 1958 to 1986.[4][5] Gordin was associated with abstract expressionism and constructivism.[6][7]

Sidney Alexander Gordin
Born(1918-10-24)October 24, 1918
Chelyabinsk, Russian Republic
DiedJanuary 28, 1996(1996-01-28) (aged 77)
Berkeley, Alameda County, California, U.S.
EducationBrooklyn Museum Art School
Alma materCooper Union
Occupation(s)Artist, professor
MovementAbstract expressionism, constructivism

Early life and education

Sidney Gordin was born on October 24, 1918, in Chelyabinsk, Russian Republic.[4][8] When he was born the Russian Empire had recently collapsed due to the Russian Revolution. His family migrated to Shanghai, and later Harbin in Heilongjiang province, China.[9] In 1922, at the age of 4, his family moved to Brooklyn, New York City, New York.[4]

Gordin graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School.[9] He attended Brooklyn Museum Art School in 1935 to 1936; followed by study at Cooper Union in 1937 to 1941, where he graduated.[10][4][11]

Art career

Gordin's first group exhibition was in 1951 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, named "American Sculpture 1951".[4] That same year in 1951, Gordin's first solo show was held at Bennington College in Vermont.[4] In 1954, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) hosted the "Play Sculpture Competition", Gordin had participated and won third place with "Tunnel Maze" (1954).[12] His "Tunnel Maze" was judged as most successful for play, safety, and ease; and subsequently was manufactured by Creative Playthings.[13][14]

In 1958, he moved to California. In 1960, Gordin acquired an art studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts, while still maintaining his home in California.[4] In the 1960s, "The Breakfast Group" was founded by Elmer Bischoff and Gordin.[15] The group was made up of Berkeley-based artists who met weekly to talk art over breakfast, the group held several group exhibitions.[15]

In 1959, he had his first solo exhibition in the San Francisco Bay Area at the Dilexi Gallery of San Francisco founded by Jim Newman.[4] In 1992, he was awarded the Maggie Kuhn Award by Presbyterian Senior Services, for being a role model in aging.[5]

Teaching

He briefly taught in schools in New York state including at Brooklyn College, Pratt Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, and the New School for Social Research.[2][16] Gordin moved to California in 1958 to start a teaching position at University of California, Berkeley, where he remained until 1986.[16] He was a full professor from 1967 to 1986, and served as the department chair.[4][16][17]

Death and legacy

He died on October 24, 1996, at home in Berkeley.[5] His memorial service was held at Kroeber Hall on the U.C. Berkeley campus.[5]

His work can be found in public museum collections include at the Whiney Museum of American Art,[2][18] Museum of Modern Art,[2][19] the Art Institute of Chicago,[5][20] Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco,[10] Lowe Art Museum,[10] San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,[21] Chrysler Museum of Art,[22] Madison Museum of Contemporary Art,[23] Brooklyn Museum,[24] Farnsworth Art Museum,[25] and Oakland Museum of California.[10]

See also

References
  1. Stiles, Knute (May 1965). "Sidney Gordin's New Work". Artforum.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  2. "Sidney Gordin; Abstract Artist, Sculptor". Los Angeles Times. 1996-02-13. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  3. O'Doherty, Brian (1961-10-26). "Art: 3 Modern Displays; Works of Sidney Gordin, Guy Gosselin and Nassos Daphnis Shown Here". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  4. "University of California: In Memoriam, Sidney Gordin, Art: Berkeley". Calisphere, California Digital Library. Jerome Carlin, Robert L. Hartman, Brian Wall, John Zurier. Regents of The University of California. 1996. Retrieved 2022-07-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. "OBITUARIES -- Sidney Gordin; Artist, Educator". SFGATE. 1996-02-06. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  6. Arts Magazine. Vol. 52. Art Digest Incorporated. 1961. p. 19.
  7. Marter, Joan M. (2011). The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art. Oxford University Press. pp. 538–539. ISBN 978-0-19-533579-8.
  8. Shedletsky, Stuart; Gibson, Ann Eden (1994). Still Working: Underknown Artists of Age in America. Parsons School of Design. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-295-97385-2.
  9. "Overview: Oral history interview with Sidney Gordin, 1965 Sept. 2". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  10. "Sidney Gordin". FAMSF. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  11. American Exhibition. Vol. 65. The Art Institute of Chicago. 1962.
  12. Solomon, Susan Gross (2005). American Playgrounds: Revitalizing Community Space. UPNE. pp. 31–34. ISBN 978-1-58465-517-6.
  13. Kinchin, Juliet; O'Connor, Aidan (2012). Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000. The Museum of Modern Art. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-87070-826-8.
  14. Today and Tomorrow. Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.). Museum of Modern Art. 1960. p. 33.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. Marech, Rona (2000-02-04). "THE ART OF CONVERSATION / For decades, artists have met weekly in Berkeley to chew on topics trivial, profound". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  16. "Sidney Gordin papers, [ca. 1925]-1995". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  17. Archives of American Art Journal. Vol. 37–38. Archives of American Art. 1997. pp. 53–54.
  18. "Sidney Gordin". Whiney Museum of American Art. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  19. "Sidney Gordin". The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  20. "Sidney Gordin". The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  21. "Gordin, Sidney". SFMOMA. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  22. "Construction #7". chrysler.emuseum.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  23. "Untitled". Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  24. "Construction II". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  25. "#11-56". Farnsworth Art Museum Collection Online. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
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