The Human Condition: The Stephen and Pamela Hootkin Collection Sept. 2014 | Page 143

Gourfain, Peter
American; (b. 1934, Chicago, IL; lives in Brooklyn, NY)
1956 BFA (painting) School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

In college, Peter Gourfain’s work centered primarily on figurative painting. He

SELECTED REFERENCES:

moved to New York in 1961 and after taking sculptor Gary Kuehn’s design and

Gourfain, Peter. Peter Gourfain:

sculpture classes at the School of Visual Arts in 1969, Gourfain turned his attention

Roundabout and Other Works:

to sculpture. The interest in figuration reemerged in Gourfain’s works beginning in

[Exhibition] March 13-May 11, 1987,

the 1970s after a brief period of experimentation with abstraction and minimalism.
In the early 1970s Gourfain began exhibiting his large-scale sculptural works
and in 1975 received a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in sculpture. Several

The Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn:
The Brooklyn Museum, 1987.
Panczenko, Russell. Peter Gourfain:
Clay, Wood, Bronze, and Works

grants and art commissions followed including two bronzes for the New York City

on Paper. Madison: Elvehjem

Department of Cultural Affairs (1990), a bronze stele for the National Park Service

Museum of Art, University of

in Lowell, Massachusetts (1992), and the installation of 24 bronze reliefs at New

Wisconsin-Madison, 2002.

York City’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine (1997). Gourfain’s frequent references
to historical and literary figures and narratives can be seen in his bronzes, terracottas, and woodcut and linoleum prints. Since 1993, the addition of American Sign
Language into his prints and ceramic pieces has become a signature of Gourfain’s
works, however, the overarching theme that permeates throughout Gourfain’s
art is the interest in the human struggle and mankind’s long-enduring story.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PETER GOURFAIN WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION

Untitled

Panczenko, Russell. Peter Gourfain:

Untitled #2, from the
series Ohio Pot

Clay, Wood, Bronze, and Works

Panczenko, Russell. Peter Gourfain:

Roundabout and Other Works

on Paper. Madison: Elvehjem

Clay, Wood, Bronze, and Works

[Exhibition] March 13-May 11, 1987,

Museum of Art, University of

on Paper. Madison: Elvehjem

The Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn:

Wisconsin-Madison, 2002.

Museum of Art, University of

The Brooklyn Museum, 1987.

Charon

Gourfain, Peter. Peter Gourfain:

Wisconsin-Madison, 2002.

The Artist in New York

Shattering glass and
toppling masonry. . . (from
Ulysses by James Joyce)

Boat with Four Figures

Panczenko, Russell. Peter Gourfain:

Panczenko, Russell. Peter Gourfain:

Clay, Wood, Bronze, and Works

Panczenko, Russell. Peter Gourfain:

Clay, Wood, Bronze, and Works

on Paper. Madison: Elvehjem

Clay, Wood, Bronze, and Works

on Paper. Madison: Elvehjem

Museum of Art, University of

on Paper. Madison: Elvehjem

Museum of Art, University of

Wisconsin-Madison, 2002.

Museum of Art, University of

Wisconsin-Madison, 2002.

Wisconsin-Madison, 2002.

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