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Norman Zammitt
About
Norman Zammitt was an American artist from Canadian origin living and working in Los Angeles.
Norman Zammitt was a lead figure in the Light & Space movement considered as the most important one in Los Angeles. His works, especially his « three dimensional » sculptures, were pioneers in the United States. This innovative concept, which explored color and transparency, inspired a whole generation of artists including Dewain Valentine or Peter Alexander, and earned him the Guggenheim Prize in 1968. Artworks from his Band Painting series were, in turn, aligned with those of the American minimalist artists, Ellsworth Kelly and Frank Stella, or the German abstract painter Josef Albers, due to their repetition and exploration into color itself, its nature and its spirituality. Norman Zammitt has been collected by impressive institutions such as the Lacma and the Moma to name but a few.
Artworks
Series
The Band Paintings Series
1974 - 1988
Band Painting is the emblematic series by Norman Zammitt. The precision and preference of this unclassifiable artist for smooth supports create a parallel with minimalist american artists. Even though these works may suggest landscapes, they especially reflect his ability to capture light. His affinity with scientists allows him to transform his abstract work into mathematical language. He creates logarithms and curves in order to accurately trace the bandwidth and progression of color, not only for aesthetic precision, but also for emotional effect, spiritual and singular. He also discovered that the parabolic graphs created to calculate the exact progression of color gradation follow the same curve as the growth rate of living organisms.
Collections
Victoria And Albert Museum
Acquired in 2008
Untitled, 1989
Acrylic on canvasboard
25 x 20 cm
Unique
Resume
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS :
AMON CARTER MUSEUM, FORTH WORTH
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM, WASHINGTON
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON
LONG BEACH MUSEUM, LONG BEACH
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, SAN DIEGO
MOMA, NEW YORK
MOMA, SAN FRANCISCO
NATIONAL GALLERY, WASHINGTON
NORA ECCLES HARRISON MUSEUM, LOGAN
NORTON SIMON MUSEUM, PASADENA
PALM SPRINGS MUSEUM, PALM SPRINGS
ROWLAND INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE, CAMBRIDGE
SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM, SANTA BARBARA
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, SEATTLE
STANFORD UNIVERSITY, STANFORD
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS :
EDWIN LAND, SCIENTIST
ELIZABETH FORSYTHE HAILEY, JOURNALIST
HELEN AND PETER BING, NURSE AND DOCTOR
JOHN KLUGE, BUSINESSMAN
MARILYN AND WILLIAM LASAROW, ARTIST AND JUDGE
MAURICE TUCHMAN, CURATOR
NORMAN LEAR, PRODUCER
RICHARD FEYNMAN, PHYSICIST
RUTH AND RICHARD ROGERS, ENTREPRENEUR AND ARCHITECT
TRUMAN CAPOTE, WRITER
ART AWARDS :
2000 LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL DECLARATION, NORMAN ZAMMITT DAY, 16 SEPTEMBER
2000 LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL COMMENDATION, 15 SEPTEMBER
1991 POLLOCK KRASNER FOUNDATION, GRANT
1968 GUGGENHEIM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION, FELLOWSHIP
1967 TAMARIND LITHOGRAPHY WORKSHOP, FELLOWSHIP
EDUCATION :
1957 ARTS DEGREE, PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA
1961 MASTER DEGREE, OTIS ART INSTITUTE, LOS ANGELES
SOLO SHOWS :
2019 NORMAN ZAMMITT, ANDREW RAFACZ, CHICAGO
2014 NORMAN ZAMMITT, ANDREW RAFACZ, CHICAGO
2012 NORMAN ZAMMITT, CARTER AND CITIZEN, LOS ANGELES
2011 NORMAN ZAMMITT, NEWSPACE, LOS ANGELES
2011 NORMAN ZAMMITT, MICHEL LORD GALLERY, PALM SPRINGS
2000 NORMAN ZAMMITT, ELYSIUM STUDIO 13, LOS ANGELES
1998 NORMAN ZAMMITT, ELYSIUM STUDIO 13, LOS ANGELES
1995 NORMAN ZAMMITT, ELYSIUM STUDIO 13, LOS ANGELES
1988 NORMAN ZAMMITT, LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY, RIVERSIDE
1988 NORMAN ZAMMITT, PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA
1984 NORMAN ZAMMITT, ACE GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
1978 NORMAN ZAMMITT, CORCORAN GALLERY, WASHINGTON
1977 NORMAN ZAMMITT, LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
1969 NORMAN ZAMMITT, ALAN LANDAU GALLERY, NEW YORK
1969 NORMAN ZAMMITT, FELIX LANDAU GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
1968 NORMAN ZAMMITT, SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM, SANTA BARBARA
1966 NORMAN ZAMMITT, FELIX LANDAU GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
1962 NORMAN ZAMMITT, FELIX LANDAU GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
GROUP SHOWS :
2023 HADI TABATABAI AND NORMAN ZAMMITT, PLACE VAUBAN, PARIS
2017 MADE IN CALIFORNIA, NATIONAL GALLERY, WASHINGTON
2017 BETWEEN TWO WORLDS, ART OF CALIFORNIA, MOMA, SAN FRANCISCO
2016 LIGHT AND SPACE, SEATTLE MUSEUM OF ART, SEATTLE
2016 JEREMY GILBERT ROLFE AND LOS ANGELES ABSTRACTION, LOUIS STERN, WEST HOLLYWOOD
2015 IS THIS THAT, GREEN EXHIBITIONS, LOS ANGELES
2013 ABSTRACTION, SIXTIES TO TODAY, HEATHER JAMES GALLERY, PALM DESERT
2013 MADE IN THE USA, PALM SPRING ART MUSEUM, PALM SPRING
2011 PURE LIGHT AND SPACE, PAINTING AND SCULPTURE FROM THE 70S, NEWSPACE GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2011 CROSSCURRENTS IN LOS ANGELES OF THE 50S AND 70S, GETTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
2011 PROOF, THE RISE OF PRINTMAKING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, NORTON SIMON MUSEUM, PASADENA
2011 SUB POP, CARDWELL JIMMERSON, CULVER CITY
2011 DARK MIRROR, CARDWELL JIMMERSON, CULVER CITY
2011 SOL CAL, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PAINTING, DAVID RICHARD CONTEMPORARY, SANTA FE
2009 EXCEPTIONALLY GIFTED, RECENT DONATIONS, THE NORTON SIMON MUSEUM, PASEDANA
2007 SOL CAL, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ART OF THE 60S AND 70S, LACMA, LOS ANGELES
2006 TRANSLUCENCE, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ART OF THE 60S AND 70S, NORTON SIMON, PASADENA
2006 ALL IN THE FAMILY, GEORGE BILLIS GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2006 OTIS, NINE DECADES OF LOS ANGELES ART, LOS ANGELES
2004 HEROES AND HEROINES, WORKING ARTISTS OVER 70, ORANGE COUNTY CENTER, SANTA ANA
2000 FROM PARIS TO PASADENA, AN OVERVIEW OF COLOR LITHOGRAPHY, NORTON SIMON, PASADENA
1999 ART FROM STONE, PRINTS FROM THE TAMARIND LITHO WORKSHOP, NORTON SIMON, PASADENA
1999 TAMARIND COLLECTION, PALM SPRINGS DESERT MUSEUM, PALM SPRINGS
1998 COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION, PALM SPRINGS DESERT MUSEUM, PALM SPRINGS
1988 CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
1987 ART IN LOS ANGELES, PROFOUND VISIONS, ACE GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
1987 THE SPIRITUAL IN ART, ABSTRACT PAINTING, LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
1986 INAUGURAL EXHIBITION, ROBERT ORVILLE ANDERSON BUILDING, GEMEENTEMUSEUM, THE HAGUE
1986 A CALIFORNIA COLLECTION, CIRRUS GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
1986 CONTRASTS, LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
1985 NEW ACQUISITIONS, LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
1984 FOCUS ON CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
1981 DECADE: LOS ANGELES PAINTING IN THE 70S, ART CENTER, PASADENA
1979 FOCUS ON CALIFORNIA ARTISTS, THE CORCORAN GALLERY, WASHINGTON
1970 A PLASTIC PRESENCE, SFMOMA, SAN FRANCISCO
1970 A PLASTIC PRESENCE, MILWAUKEE ART CENTER, MILWAUKEE
1969 A PLASTIC PRESENCE, JEWISH MUSEUM, NEW YORK
1967 PLASTICS WEST COAST, HANSEN GALLERY, SAN FRANCISCO
1967 AMERICAN SCULPTURE OF THE 60S, LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES
1967 AMERICAN SCULPTURE OF THE 60S, PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM, PHILADELPHIA
1967 NEW ACQUISITIONS, MOMA, NEW YORK
1965 YOUNG WEST COAST ARTISTS, MOMA, NEW YORK
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