«Mother & Child» Folk/Surrealist 32 1/4″ x 33″ Oil Painting-1985-Gareth Crispell

This is a 32 1/4 by 33 1/4 inch oil painting on canvas signed and titled on back «Woman and Child.» It was done in 1985 by listed, folk/surrealist Cape Cod, Massachusetts painter Gareth Crispell (AKA Crispel). It is a beautiful and colorful piece. It is in excellent condition. It will be shipped for $95 via UPS. Please read the biography below. Gareth Crispell was an eccentric, reclusive self-taught artist who lived an almost provincial life, mostly in and around Cape Cod, Massachusetts. His style was a combination of folk art and surrealism, both naive and cerebral, with an iconography that was personal, unique and authentic. Although his name was Gareth Crispell, he signed all or most of his paintings Crispel, perhaps his way of separating his everyday identity from his artistic persona. His paintings indicate a constant concern or preoccupation with nature, women and fantasy.The prototypical Crispell woman is tall, lean and stoically sexual. She is non-provocative but confident. She appears to be aloof, self-absorbed and enigmatic. Often in his artwork, nature provides a reassuring vital presence, a constant truth that persists whatever the behavior or demeanor of his characters.In a statement from the artist, Crispell said he produced 200 to 300 works of art, specifically paintings, sculpture and drawings, although only about 45 paintings are known to exist, all found in an attic of one of the buildings at the Craigville Conference Center on Cape Cod where he worked as a caretaker. The paintings of his that are known to exist were all done between 1979 and 1988.It is in his few early abstract works that Crispell seems most unbound and joyous, the colors and compositions achieving exuberance, coherence and freedom. His representational paintings are mostly both engaging and mysterious. They are usually visually satisfying yet spiritually challenging. They are best approached instinctively rather than analytically despite a tendency one might have to analyze them. They exude a unique other-worldly aura. Although they are done in a distinctly naive style, they are genuinely enigmatic and that may be their greatest appeal. The artist died at the age of 70 in 2015 after a long illness. In 2017 Fletcher Gallery of Woodstock, New York hosted a one-man Gareth Crispell exhibition.