Stanley Boxer (1926-2000) stood firmly outside the realm of definition with his paintings that sought to explore the material qualities of paint itself. In his early career, Boxer was labeled a Color Field Painter by critics, yet he rejected this label and shifted his work to focus on materials and process art. His mature works are characterized by dense surfaces built up of thickly brushed globs of paint and a myriad of material additions including sand, glitter, sawdust, wood shavings, and beads. Boxer displayed no bias towards his choice of materials included in his canvases. He was more interested in the final product and its effect on the viewer rather than the materials producing the narrative. His goal, above all else, was to create new forms that excited the eye as opposed to any type of literalist statement. His works inspired conflicting criticism, with some claiming his paintings displayed minimalist tendencies, while others believed his inclusiveness and application of paint built up a sense of drama that climaxed in front of the viewer. The gestural strokes of thick paint are repeated across his canvases infinitely until they are transformed into a singular entity. Art critic Grace Glueck, in an attempt to categorize the artist, claimed that his abstraction could be simultaneously interpreted as works of landscape and reflections on the pure realm of paint. Boxer’s works can be considered part of the movement of Lyrical Abstraction. The American branch of the movement was defined by art collector Larry Aldrich in 1969. He had collected works that he believed represented a return to personal expression and experimentation following the Minimalist movement. It is important to note that Lyrical Abstraction was not a return to any specific previous style but rather a return to a more painterly nature that resulted in “beautiful” works, a word that had been adamantly rejected by the movements of the 1960s. Although abstract art conveys emotional content, lyrical abstraction is more concerned with a larger spiritual outlook. Works in this genre contain a personal aspect of the artists’ touch and are unrelated to objective reality.
Stanley Boxer (1926-2000) was born in Brooklyn, New York. His formal education took place at the Art Students League of New York where he was trained in various mediums. Throughout his career, his honors included the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1975, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant in 1989, and the election as a full member of the National Academy of Design in 1993. Boxer’s works may be found in noted private and public collections in the United States and abroad.
