Plaza Dance

About Plaza Dance

This modern abstract painting is by Harold Feist.

This richly textured contemporary acrylic painting by Harold Feist continues his exploration of the spiral as a dynamic form. Feist, a devoted modernist, first used this simple ‘spoke’ shape in the 1970’s and continued to experiment with it for several years.

This piece features the spiral shape—its ‘spokes’ dancing out from the center in a luscious, thickly applied palette of metallic paint in purple, gold, turquoise, burgundy and silver. The dark charcoal coloured background makes the colours stand out.

“Paintings came one after the other like it was a matter of letting them loose…it was obvious that they wanted to exist and should exist. My job was to get the paint right.” Harold Feist

“…Their (Feist’s paintings) true intelligence is less obviously apparent. They reveal their intricacies over time. Their eccentric drawing, unexpected colour harmonies and varied surfaces demand a great deal of the viewer, but they reward that attention.” Karen Wilken, NY Art Critic

Harold Feist was born in Texas (1945-2021) but held citizenship in both Canada and the U.S. He won a scholarship for the University of Illinois and changed his studies from architecture to fine art acquiring a master’s at the Maryland Institute College of Art. While pursuing his own art, he took a job teaching at the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, followed by the University of Regina and Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. He decided to paint full-time in the late seventies. His work is held in both private and public collections in Canada and the U.S., including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.