Edward Boccia

Edward Eugene Boccia (1921–2012) was an American painter and poet who lived and worked in St. Louis, Missouri and served as a university professor in the School of Fine Arts, Washington University, St. Louis.[1] Boccia's work consisted mostly of large scale paintings in Neo-Expressionist style, and reflect an interest in religion and its role in the modern world. His primary format was the multi-panel painting.[2]

Widely exhibited during his lifetime, and the focus of a number of retrospective and solo exhibits, the artist created over 1,500 paintings, and over fifty large scale multi-panel format oil paintings in a neo-expressionist style, such as Mystique Marriage (1979).[3] The American collector of avant garde European modernism Morton D. May was Boccia's most important patron, and held a large collection of Boccia's work. Research, exhibitions and publications are overseen by the artist trust - The Edward E. Boccia and Madeleine J. Boccia Artist Trust, St. Louis who also own all copyrights and are the sole authenticator of the artist's works. More may be learned at Official Site of Edward E. Boccia

Background

Born to Italian parents in Newark, New Jersey, Boccia attended the Newark School of Fine Arts. He studied at the Pratt Institute and the Art Students League, New York,[4] where he met his wife Madeleine Wysong. Boccia served in World War II,[5] in the 603rd Camouflage engineer unit known today as the Ghost Army. He continued to paint and draw during his time overseas, sending his artwork back to his mother.[6] After the war, Boccia earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree at Columbia University, concurrently serving as Dean and teaching art at the Columbus Art School in Ohio, where he introduced the Bauhaus teaching method to his students. In 1951, he was appointed Assistant Dean of Fine Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he taught painting for over 30 years, until his retirement in 1986.[6][7][8]

Artwork

Boccia's themes are linked to the mystical, occult, and theosophical traditions of modern art including the belief in the messianic role of the artist, seen in the work of the Symbolists, as well as the pictures of Paul Gauguin and Oskar Kokoschka among others.[9] Specifically, Boccia includes numerous self-portraits, and uses examples of esoteric imagery such as the androgyne and the hermaphrodite. The works for which the artist is most well known are the multi-panel works in Expressionist style.

In 1956, Boccia began his multi-panel paintings, which were purchased after completion, among others, by Morton D. May between 1956 and 1977.[10][11][12][13][14][15] Some of his most noteworthy series of multi-paneled paintings consist of up to nine panels. Other paintings remained hidden in his studio for over fifty years and were uncovered recently by a research project led by the late artist's trust.[16][17][18] Boccia's work shows the influence of Max Beckmann, and he was well aware of the older artist's work through May's collection.[19]

Some of the most well regarded pieces deal with the death of his son David in 1984 and are painted in a combination of styles including Surrealist, Expressionist and Magical Realist including David’s Death (2004) and Pietà (1984). Boccia painted until his death, at age 91.

Boccia is currently the subject of a large-scale critical monograph to be published in 2019 authored by Rosa JH Berland, in cooperation with the Edward E. and Madeleine J. Boccia Trust, St. Louis, Missouri; this project is garnering the attention of the art community at large.[20]

Boccia was the subject of numerous solo exhibits and group shows, the most recent being his inclusion in the show" The Ghost Army of World War II, The Salmagundi Club Gallery, New York, New York June 14, 2015 - June 25, 2015" honoring the special battalion of WW II, the Ghost Army, whose artistic ingenuity allowed them to create visual tricks to fool the Nazis into believing the Allied ground power was stronger than the reality. This exhibit represented a culmination of the PBS 2013 Ghost Army documentary film as well as the 2015 book, The Ghost Army of World War II, by Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles, Princeton Architectural Press.[21]

Other recent exhibits include posthumous shows at St. Louis University Museum of Art and The Sheldon Art Galleries in 2013.[22] Retrospectives of his works have been held posthumously as well as during the artist's life in St. Louis.[23][24][25]

Museum collections

Boccia’s art is found in the collections of art museums including The Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis;[26] St. Louis University Museum of Art; St. Louis Art Museum; Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale;[27] The Weatherspoon Art Museum, The University of North Carolina, Greensboro; and the National Gallery Athens, Greece.[28]

A number of commissioned works are on view in religious and public institutions and the artist’s work is held by over 600 private collectors, such as the Kodner Gallery in St. Louis.[29]

References
  1. Early, Rosalind (January 18, 2013). "Edward Boccia Remembered". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  2. "Edward Boccia - Museum of Contemporary Religious Art". wordpress.com. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  3. Archives of The Edward E. Boccia & Madeline J. Boccia Trust, St. Louis, Missouri. Boccia, Edward E. 2007.
  4. "Edward Boccia Dead: Seminal Figurative Expressionist Painter Dies At 91". The Huffington Post. October 20, 2012.
  5. "Edward Boccia: Renowned artist, poet and professor". St Louis Beacon. September 7, 2012. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  6. Lee Enterprises (September 9, 2012). "Edward Boccia dies: Washington University teacher and artist who became famous by doing things his way". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  7. "Edward Boccia, professor emeritus of art, 91". wustl.edu. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  8. "Aronson Gallery - Edward Boccia: Figurative Expressionist January 18 - March 3". St Louis University Museum of Art. 2013. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  9. St. Louis University Museum of Art, Edward Boccia Figural Expressionist, Exhibit Catalog, January 2013
  10. “Major St. Louis Collection on View: Morton D. May Expressionist Works at Pius XII Library.” George McCue, St. Louis Post Dispatch, February 14, 1960.
  11. “Artist in Rome.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July, 1959.
  12. “Artist’s Reflections from Italy.” St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 26, 1959.
  13. “Education of the Artist.” Washington University Magazine, June 1960.
  14. “Some Notes by the Artist.” E. Boccia: A Retrospective Exhibition, St. Louis University, M. B. McNamee, Editor. 1960.
  15. “Essay on Painting.” Washington University Alumni News, Vol. 6, No. 3, May 1964.
  16. “New Talent in the U.S.A.” Katherine Kuh, Art in America, Vol. 44, No. 1, February 1956, 10 – 55.
  17. “New Talent in the U.S.” H. H. Arnason, Art in America, Vol. 46, No. 1, Spring 1958, 12 – 29.
  18. Weller, Allen. Contemporary American Painting and Sculpture, March 3 – April 7, 1957, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1957.
  19. The Morton D. May Collection of 20th century German Masters, St. Louis City Art Museum, 1970.
  20. "Edward E. Boccia". ArtSlant Street. 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  21. "Edward Boccia Exhibits in The Ghost Army of World War II". Prweb.com. 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  22. "'Edward Boccia: Figurative Expressionist' : Saint Louis University : SLU". Slu.edu. 2012-12-18. Archived from the original on 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  23. "'Edward Boccia's 90th Birthday Bash' : St. Louis Magazine". stlmag.com. 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  24. "'MOCRA exhibitions: Eye of the Painter' : Saint Louis University : SLU". slu.edu. 1996-05-03. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  25. "'Internationally renowned American painter Edward Eugene Boccia dies in Saint Louis' : artdaily". www.artdaily.org. 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  26. "Edward Boccia". wustl.edu. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  27. "NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale - Museum". moafl.org. Archived from the original on 2014-12-29.
  28. "National gallery". nationalgallery.gr. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  29. "Available Works by Edward Boccia". kodnergallery.com. Retrieved 2015-07-27.

Further reading
  • “American Painting Today,” Grand Rapids Gallery Catalog, Grand Rapids, Michigan, January 1961.
  • Sixteenth North Mississippi Valley Artists Exhibit, July 7 – September 22, 1963, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois, 1963.
  • Draftsmen in Missouri, Gallery of the Loretto-Hilton Center, Webster College, St. Louis, Missouri, 1968.
  • “Edward Boccia Exhibit at St. Charles Gallery.” John Brod Peters, St. Louis Globe Democrat, September 25 – 26, 1971.
  • “The Human Figure: Two Artists’ View.” James Auer, Milwaukee Journal, 1975.
  • “Meet Morton D. May.” Elaine Viets, St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 2, 1978.
  • Ten Missouri Painters, Missouri State Council on the Arts, 1968. Washington University Art Faculty and Photographs by Walter Grossman, Mitchell Museum, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, 1980.
  • Art St. Louis II, Thompson Center, St. Louis Artists Coalition, 1986.
  • “Paintings Reminiscent of Cubism.” Nancy Rice, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 16 April 1990.
  • American Gallery Catalog. St. Louis, Missouri, February 1992.
  • Nexus – Generations of the Artistic Spirit, October 29, 1995 – January 14, 1996, St. Louis Artist’ Guild.
  • Halpert, V. B. Continuing Tradition: Doubly Gifted Artists, February 5 – May 30, 1999, Atelier A/E, New York.
  • Edward Boccia: About the Artist, March 23 – April 16, 2000, Dresser Foundation Gallery, The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, St. Louis.
  • “A New Masterpiece.” Universitas, The Magazine of St. Louis University, Summer 2002.
  • Boccia and Friends, A Spring Drawing Exhibition, April 14–28, 2007, McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts Gallery, St. Louis.
  • Good Friday, February 15 – April 26, 2009, Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, St. Louis University.
  • Friedman Hamilton, Lynn. Maturity and Its Muse, October 1, 2010 – February 5, 2011, Sheldon Art Galleries & Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg Gallery, St. Louis.
  • Berland, Rosa JH. "Cezanne's Apple & Edward E. Boccia. Hierarchy, Revolt & Artistic Innovation in Twentieth Century America." Ekphrasis Journal. Images, Cinema, Theatre, Media. Published by the Department of Theater & Television, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania: Summer 2015. http://ekphrasis.accentpublisher.ro/site/
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