Untitled

About Untitled

This contemporary abstract painting by Harold Feist features his spoke format.

In the 1970’s Harold Feist discovered a simple dynamic form that would engage him for years to come. His innovative use of a spiral spoke-like form gave the artist a formal structure to experiment with. This is one of a series of pieces he created that explores the ‘spoke’ format. Here fluid, expressive ‘spokes’ radiate out from the spiral’s center rendered in a rich palette of iridescent silver, lilac, white, black and bright blue against a gray background. Feist liked to apply paint thickly so the surface is highly textured. His first ‘Spoke’ painting was completed in 1975, a moment he described as ‘genuine eureka.’

"The viewer could look at the picture, see the spokes, see that it all followed more or less a system, then maybe – having been enticed straight in through the front door – see the painting as a painting." Harold Feist

“Feist thought of his radiating format as "dynamic and full of problems" but also as "simple and knowable…like bones or a skeleton," he has said. "Everybody has a skeleton but the fleshing out can lead to anything from a Muhammed Ali to a Woody Allen." He liked the clarity and intelligibility of the radial structure.” Karen Wilkin, 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.