Arthur Secunda

Black and white photograph of Arthur Secunda

Arthur Secunda in his welding studio, Glendale, California
Photographer: Susan Rubinstein

Born Arturo Secunda in New Jersey in 1927, Arthur Secunda has maintained a broad and constant association with the arts in America for over 60 years. He studied at New York University prior to serving as a staff artist to the United States Air Force in World War II and, following the war, studied at the Art Students League. Secunda’s oeuvre includes prints, paintings and sculpture and he has worked as a curator, a teacher and an arts critic. He was the founding editor of the journal Artforum in 1963 and came to work at Gemini Ltd on several print editions in 1965.

The looters, Peace brother and Negro owned are good examples of the striking collage graphics for which Secunda is renowned. The works use images taken from contemporaneous media to address issues of racial tension and war that were at the forefront of American society in the mid 1960s.

Emilie Owens

Works in the Kenneth E. Tyler Collection

Browse all works by Arthur Secunda

Chronology

1927 Born Jersey City, New Jersey, United States of America

1946 Conscripted for Army Air Force, serving as staff artist with Special Services

1947 Studies at New York University, New York and Art Students League, New York where he comes under the influence of Harry Stenberg, Reginald Marsh, Julian Levy and Robert Beverly Hale

1948-50 Studies at Académie Julian and Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris under Andre Lhote and Ossip Zadkine; further studies at Istituto Meschini, Rome and Esmeralda Escue, Coyoacan, Mexico with Jose Ruiz and Antonio Lazo

1952 Solo exhibition, Galerie Lucien Gout, Montpellier, France

1956 Lives in Mallorca, Spain

1958 Moves to Santa Barbara, California where he works as Curator of Education, Santa Barbara Art Museum, California. Produces and hosts radio broadcast “Arts of all times”, on KTMS Channel 3

1960 Co-founder, Gallery 8, Santa Barbara

1963 Inaugural editor of journal, Artforum

1965 Completes editions of Peace brother, Negro owned, The looters, at Gemini Ltd., Los Angeles

1966 Solo exhibition, La Jolla Art Museum, California Completes editions of Search and David Stuart Galleries, at Gemini Ltd., Los Angeles

1968 Solo exhibition, Richard Foncke Gallery, Ghent, Belgium; included in exhibitions: James Ensor Museum, Ostend, Belgium; National Museum, Stockholm, Sweden

1969 Included in exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

1970 Receives Tamarind fellowship, California. Solo exhibition, Memorial Union Art Gallery, University of California, Davis; included in exhibition, Oakland Museum, California

1971 Solo exhibition, the Konstsalongen Kavaletten, Uppsala, Sweden. Receives grant from Centre Genevois de la Gravure Contemporaine, Geneva, Switzerland

1972 Receives Tamarind fellowship, Mexico

1973Included in exhibition, Alderich Museum of Contemporary Art, New York

1974 Included in exhibition, San Jose Museum, California

1978 Included in exhibition, Los Angeles County Institute of Contemporary Art, California

1979 Included in exhibition, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

1983 Included in exhibition, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California

1987 Solo exhibition, Fukui Cultural Center, Fukui, Japan

1987 Solo travelling exhibition, organised by Galerie Cramer, Geneva travelled to Nagoya, Tokyo, Fukui, Sendai and Osaka; invited as a guest artist to the Otaki Imadate-Machi paper mill

1990 Included in exhibitions, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah

1993 Solo exhibitions: Roberts Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona; Las Vegas Art Museum, Nevada

2001 Included in exhibition, the Greengate Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland

2003 Solo exhibitions: at McMasters University, Hamilton, Canada; Robert Roman Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona; Pfriem Gallery, Lacoste, France.

Kate Buckingham, 2007
This chronology provides an overview of selected biographical information, major solo and group exhibitions held within the artist's own lifetime.

Further Reading

NATIONAL GALLERY PUBLICATIONS

  • Workshop: The Kenneth Tyler Collection, Jane Kinsman (ed.), 2015

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Kenneth E. Tyler Collection

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The artist Frank Stella stands with a cigar in hand bemusedly tilting his head as he interogates his recent masterpieces in print. Nearby the master printer Kenneth Tyler muses on the quality of the paper on which he has printed. His gigantic mustache seems to weigh him down heavily, judging by his posture.

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Read Time 20 minutes
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Kenneth Tyler collaborated with leading artists working in America in the post Second World War era. He also mentored emerging artists.

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Founding of the Collection

Two men in an art workshop rolling ink onto a large rectangular stone

What happens when a talented artist experiences the creative environment of a Kenneth Tyler print workshop?

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Kenneth Noland

Black and white portrait photo of Kenneth Noland

One of 77 artists who collaborated with master printer Kenneth Tyler.

Exhibition

The Artist and the Printer

Past Exhibition

29 Nov 1986 - 10 May 1987

This exhibition explores the fascinating relationship between an artist and printer.