Andy Wing 1931-2004

Swamp Mothers in the Oedipus Cycle 1959| casein & acrylic | 348.16.06

Andy Wing was one of many American abstract artists whose art was grounded in the forms, materials and cadences of nature. He took classes at the Art Students League in New York City; many of Wing’s artistic philosophies echo Hans Hofmann’s Abstract Expressionist teachings, specifically Hofmann’s exploration of experimental "action" painting and his creation of"push/pull" visual sensations within his vital, light-filled paintings. Yet the techniques Wing employed to achieve these goals were ones he developed alone, based on his own social conscience, artistic instincts and personal circumstances

He stored all manner of urban debris and wooden forms found in nature in an area of his Laguna Beach property he referred to as his "recyclery." From these materials, Wing constructed his own innovatively shaped canvases and painting surfaces. He was initially forced by his finances to make the outdoors his studio, but over time the environment of his garden became an integral part of his season- and nature-based artistic process.

His strategy of exposing his works to the elements of nature in order to create their exceptional patinas underscores his desire to enlist external universal forces as partners in his creative endeavors. While heaving pigment onto a canvas in a 1987 video recording, Wing explained, "The process is to feel my own being, from the heel of my shoe up to every aspect of myself, in relation to the wind and to the way that I’m moving."