Simon Dinnerstein

Simon Dinnerstein
Born (1943-02-16) February 16, 1943 (age 83)
Brooklyn, New York
EducationCity College of New York, Brooklyn Museum Art School, Hochschule fur Bildende Künste, Kassel, Germany
Known forPainting, drawing, printmaking
Notable workThe Fulbright Triptych, In Sleep, Passage of the Moon
MovementFigurative art
ChildrenSimone Dinnerstein
RelativesHarvey Dinnerstein (brother)
Adrian Greensmith (grandson)
AwardsFulbright Fellowship, Germany;
Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome
Websitesimondinnerstein.com

Simon Dinnerstein (born February 16, 1943) is an American artist, best known for the painted work, The Fulbright Triptych (1971).

Early life and education

Dinnerstein was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, in 1943 to pharmacist Louis and homemaker Sarah Dinnerstein. The second of two sons, he has an older brother, Harvey Dinnerstein, who also became an artist.

Dinnerstein holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from the City College of New York. He studied painting and drawing at the Brooklyn Museum Art School with Louis Grebenak, David Levine, and Richard Mayhew.

Career

He was a member of the faculty at the New School for Social Research, Parsons School of Design, and New York City Technical College. He lectures widely and has lectured at Pennsylvania State University.

The Fulbright Triptych

Dinnerstein's most notable painting, The Fulbright Triptych, was started in Germany in 1971 while he served as a Fulbright Scholar in Graphics. It was completed in 1974. A largely autobiographical work, it combines stark realism with American figurative tradition to produce a secular rendering of the usually religious form, the triptych.

Writer Jonathan Lethem commented: "Simon Dinnerstein's The Fulbright Triptych is one of those singular and astonishing works of art which seem to imply a description of the whole world merely by insisting on a scrupulous gaze at one perfect instant." The oil-on-wood painting consists of three panels approximately 14 feet wide, depicting a graphic artist's studio. Three figures, representing the Dinnerstein family, occupy the outer panels. The central panel consists of the artist's desk, engraving tools, a copper disk of the commissioned Fulbright engraving project, and an outward view in perspective of Hessisch Lichtenau (near to Kassel). Plants, photographs, old master's paintings, children's grade school writing, and an exit visa from Russia, appear tacked to the wall of the studio. The Triptych is noted for its symmetry, meticulous detail, mixture of textures, and sense of space.

Widely praised, with each viewer bringing a different sensibility and interpretation of the work, the painting is the subject of numerous essays, articles, and books, including The Suspension of Time: Reflections of Simon Dinnerstein's 'The Fulbright Triptych' edited by Daniel Slager, published 2011.

Style and influences

Dinnerstein's art is mostly in the figurative style, with folk, expressionistic, and surrealistic influences, possessing a "narrative" and "psychological edge". He uses a variety of media, pencils, charcoal, and oil paints. Dinnerstein renders still-lifes, but most of his work involves portraiture or human figures. He often "paints the figure in unexpected juxtaposition with landscape or interior elements", of which Dinnerstein says,

What interests me is the ability of Degas, Balthus, Lucian Freud and Antonio López García ... to deal with the figure ... to create art ... rich in scale, yet abstract adventurous, experimental ... deeply human ... a combination of modernism and tradition of skill medium and ... a fresh, personal response to the human form in art ... Hopefully my work speaks to these issues.

Often the human figures are portrayed against a background of hyperreality, or in dreamy surreal landscapes. Light plays an important role in Dinnerstein's work achieving "an inwardness ... in the play of light that radiates from the object and renders it mysterious" or makes "Brooklyn sunlight on an ordinary floor seem supernatural." The use of light contributes to Dinnerstein's paintings being described as "magical realism". In early Dinnerstein works, strong left-right symmetry prevails, although later works are noted for their asymmetry. Dinnerstein draws on diverse sources for inspiration: Northern European art (Albrecht Dürer, Hieronymus Bosch), Mexican art (Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera), as well as literature (D. H. Lawrence, August Strindberg) and film (Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock).

Personal life

In 1965, Dinnerstein married Renée Sudler, a noted educational consultant. Renée Dinnerstein is the author of the book Choice Time: How to Deepen Learning Through Inquiry and Play, PreK-2 published in August 2016. She runs the popular blog, Investigating Choice Time: Inquiry, Exploration and Play. They have a daughter, Simone Dinnerstein, a concert pianist. Both wife and daughter (as an infant) figure prominently in The Fulbright Triptych as well as other works.

Dinnerstein resides in Brooklyn, where, in addition to practicing his art, he teaches classes on art history and appreciation.

Videos and podcasts

List of awards

Exhibitions

  • 1975 - Staempfli Gallery, New York
  • 1976–1977 - The Fulbright Triptych, Institute of International Education, New York
  • 1977 - American Academy in Rome, Italy
  • 1979 - Institute of International Education, New York; Staempfli Gallery, New York
  • 1981 - The New School for Social Research, New York
  • 1985 - Gallery 1199, The Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center, New York
  • 1987 - Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York
  • 1988 - Staempfli Gallery, New York
  • 1991 - Saint Paul's School, Hargate Center, Concord, New Hampshire
  • 1993 - New School for Social Research, New York
  • 1999–2000 - Walton Arts Center, Joy Pratt Markham Gallery, Fayetteville, Arkansas
  • 2000 - Harnett Museum of Art, University of Richmond, Virginia
  • 2000 - Texarkana Regional Arts Center, Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas
  • 1999 - Saint Peter's Church, New York (Retrospective Exhibition, The Fulbright Triptych and Flower Market, Rome)
  • 1999 - Bread and Roses Gallery, The Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center, NY
  • 1999 - ACA Galleries, New York, Recent Paintings and Drawings
  • 2006 - Simon Dinnerstein, Open Studio: The Palette Paintings, Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York
  • 2008 - Simon Dinnerstein: One-Man Exhibit, Rainbow Room, New York
  • 2010 - Simon Dinnerstein – Giclee Prints, Loupe Digital Studio
  • 2010 - Simon Dinnerstein-Giclee Prints, Open Studio, Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York
  • 2011 - The Fulbright Triptych and Selected Paintings, Tenri Gallery, New York
  • 2011–2014 - The Fulbright Triptych, German Consulate of New York, on extended loan from the Palmer Museum of Art at Pennsylvania State University
  • 2014–2015 - The Fubright Triptych, University of Arkansas School of Law, Fayetteville, Arkansas, on extended loan from the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn. State University
  • 2017 - The Lasting World: Simon Dinnerstein and The Fulbright Triptych, Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
  • 2018 - The Lasting World: Simon Dinnerstein and The Fulbright Triptych, Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, New York

Articles and reviews

Books

References

  1. ↑ "Simon and Simone Dinnerstein in Conversation: An Interview with Robin Quivers at the German Consulate of New York". February 20, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Dantzic, Cynthia Maris (November 2006). 100 New York Painters. Schiffer Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 978-0764325434.
  3. ↑ Micchelli, Thomas (May 11, 2019). "Encountering "The Fulbright Triptych"". Hyperallergic. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 "Chronology of Simon Dinnerstein". Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Dinnerstein, Simon (April 1986). "Looking At One's Own Artwork". American Artist.
  6. 1 2 "Triptych: An Evening of Painting and Music: Simon Dinnerstein & Robert Sirota". April 25, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Boime, Albert (November 1990). The Art of Simon Dinnerstein. The University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1557281425.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Messer, Thomas M. (November 1990). The Art of Simon Dinnerstein. Foreword: The University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1557281425.
  9. 1 2 Slager, Daniel, ed. (June 14, 2011). The Suspension of Time: Reflections on Simon Dinnerstein and The Fulbright Triptych. Milkweed Editions. ISBN 978-1571313263.
  10. ↑ Dinnerstein, Simon. "The Fulbright Triptych". Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  11. ↑ Russell, John (February 8, 1975). "In Dinnerstein's Painting, An Echo Chamber". The New York Times.
  12. 1 2 3 Smith, Roberta (August 11, 2011). "Rediscovered at the Altar of Art". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  13. ↑ André, Michael (March 1975). "Simon Dinnerstein (Staempfli)". Art News.
  14. ↑ Mertens, Richard (October 25, 1991). "Essential Realities: Simon Dinnerstein Draws the Essence of Art from the Commonplace". The Concord Monitor.
  15. 1 2 Hagler, Elana (April 21, 2013). "Pursuing Humanity: An Interview with Simon Dinnerstein". Painting Perceptions. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  16. ↑ Proctor, Roy (August 20, 2000). "Exploring the Edge: No Slave to Fashion, Artist Draws Us Into Other States of Mind". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  17. 1 2 Abramovitch, Ilana (2002). Jews of Brooklyn. Brandeis University Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-1584650034.
  18. 1 2 3 Davenport, Guy, essayist (2000). The Art of Simon Dinnerstein, Simon Dinnerstein: Paintings and Drawings. Hudson Hills Press. ISBN 0965048543.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Arnheim, Rudolph, essayist (2000). Simon Dinnerstein: Painting and Drawing. Hudson Hills Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ McLeod, Deborah (September 1, 2000). "Bodies of Work: From Visceral Portraits to Romanticized Nymphs, Simon Dinnerstein's Retrospective at the Marsh Gallery Shows a Stylistic Niche through Every Turn of the Artist's Evolution". Richmond Style Weekly. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Author Bio: Renee Dinnerstein". Heinemann Publishing, of Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  22. ↑ "About Renée Dinnerstein". Investigating Choice Time: Inquiry, Exploration, and Play. September 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  23. ↑ "• Simone Dinnerstein • Simon Dinnerstein • In Conversation on Vimeo". February 20, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Triptych: An Evening of Painting and Music: Simon Dinnerstein & Robert Sirota". April 25, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  25. ↑ Video on YouTube
  26. ↑ "Simon Dinnerstein". Archived from the original on November 17, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Simone Dinnerstein and Simon Dinnerstein: A Conversation on the Mysteries of Art and Family". Vimeo. August 31, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  28. ↑ simondinnerstein.com/email/cpm1412_02.pdf "Simon Dinnerstain", Colored pencil, December 2014