Charles Shaw is much more than just an artist, he encompasses many of the arts in his work. He was born and raised in New York City in 1892. Afterwards, he studied architecture at both Yale and Columbia Universities. He started his career as a freelance writer, and went on to publish several books throughout his lifetime. Shaw first got into painting in 1926 at the Art Students League located in New York. His first most notable work is his “plastic polygon” collection. His work was based off of European cubism and abstraction. The paintings resembled the Manhattan skyline, while at the same time drew from European techniques. It was almost like he combined two worlds in one painting. Shaw was a crucial member in founding the American Abstract Artist, a group of modern painters. Shaw’s style had sharp lines, crisp edges, and was very defined. He worked on a grid, but at the same time he used very organic and natural shapes. His piece Abstraction, Indian Summer was created in 1952, and it resembled a new style he was using. He started avoiding using harsh lines and started working more with texture and large brushstrokes. Large planes of color and layering make there way in his work. In a November issue of Artnews it was stated, “Charles Shaw, for a longer time than most of his colleagues an abstract artist, is now in the midst of a new phase that might be described as cosmic naturalism.”
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