SAM KANER

(American, 1924-1990)

SOFT ABSTRACT

Oil on Canvas

29¾ x 32 Inches

Signed, Verso, 'Kaner' and Dated 1962

 

This International American Modernist was born, and first studied, in Brooklyn. After the war, he moved to Paris to study painting and, subsequently, was introduced to graphics by Picasso's master printer, Roger Lacourière. Sam Kaner then moved to London and began to focus on the creation of abstract images with intaglio and relief etchings, using a version of the process that he had developed under Lacourière. This allowed him to create two or three-stage color printing using only a single impression. Developing this technique, Kaner exhibited internationally with success, including at the Guggenheim in Venice, and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards for his graphic oeuvre. His works are held in prominent private and public collections including the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art (Gargantua, 1954) and the British Government Art Collection (3 works), among others.

 

Sam Kaner also founded and ran Copenhagen's American Art Gallery, later known as the Court Gallery. Here he held exhibitions of COBRA group artists including Karel Appel and Lynn Chadwick as well as proponents of Tachisme such as Sam Francis and Hans Hofmann. Kaner worked successfully with such international galleries as Gimpel Fils in London, Anderson-Mayer in Paris, Jan Krugier in Geneva, Galleria Naviglio in Milan and Martha Jackson in New York and also with Peggy Guggenheim, with whom he maintained both a personal and professional relationship. At his annual summer exhibitions, the great names in modern art were represented by their oil and watercolors and sculptures.