Myron Kaufman: That's Life . . .

Myron Kaufman: That's Life . . .

May 4 - June 1, 2014

Opening Reception: Sunday, May 4, 2-5pm

Regular Hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 1-5pm or by appointment

Myron Kaufman was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1927. He

attended the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan as a music student,

focusing on the clarinet and saxophone. An impetuous youth, he dropped out of

high school to work in the Brooklyn Navy Yard as an apprentice electrician. A

year later, he enlisted in the Navy, not, as he puts it, out of any patriotic

impulse, but because he liked the uniforms.

After two years of service during World War II, he went back

to school under the G.I. Bill and studied to become an electrical

engineer, his primary occupation for most of his adult life. He developed

naval simulators for the Naval Training Devices Center in Sands Pt., NY. He

later founded and was President of a company which made equipment for analyzing

data in real time. In the final years of his career he was a consultant in

the laser industry. He holds four US patents in his name.

A self-described Sunday painter, Myron pursued his love of

art while making a living and raising a family by taking life drawing and

painting classes at the Brooklyn Museum, the West Hartford, CT Art League,

the Art Students League in Manhattan and privately with painter Quinton

Bemiller of Claremont, CA. He moved to California in 2007 to be near his

family and has worked full time as an artist ever since. He had his first

solo exhibition at Project 210 Gallery in Pasadena in February 2009 at the

age of 82 and his second, Still Perplexed, at Offramp Gallery in

2010.

Witty narrative, a preternaturally bright palette and an

intuitive sense of composition are the hallmarks of Myron’s work. Nothing is

sacred as he tackles subjects as far ranging as Wall Street, religion,

Dick Cheney, Little Orphan Annie, aging, nudity, and sexuality. Drawn

initially to the bright colors and free-flowing creativity of these paintings,

one’s attention is ultimately held by the narrative. Simultaneously evoking

humor, emotional discomfort, and a desire to know more, one feels

privileged to peek into the wonderfully strange psyche of Myron Kaufman.