Description

This is a phantasmic and RARE Antique Mid Century Modern California Abstract Painting, watercolor and pastel on paper, by esteemed Ojai, California female abstractionist Irene Koch (1929 – ). This work depicts two crouched figures, surrounded by abstract and profound swaths of colors biomorphically rendered shapes. Signed and dated in the lower left corner: I. Koch 62. Additionally, this work retains a label on the verso from the renowned Esther Robles Gallery. This label refers to an artwork by Gerd Koch, her husband and a fellow abstract artist, and it is likely that she re-used this frame for her own artwork. Titled in graphite on the verso: Dancers Resting. Approximately 20 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches (including frame.) Actual visible artwork is approximately 18 x 24 inches. Very good condition for age, with light toning to the paper and mild edge wear and scuffing to the original period frame (please see photos.) Original works by Irene Koch are very rare, and unfortunately, she is often overshadowed by her husband in the histories of California Abstract Expressionism. She and her husband s artwork were prominently exhibited in prestigious settings across California, including the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. This piece is not to be missed. Acquired from an old art collection in Santa Clarita, California. Please check out my other listings for more wonderful and unique artworks!

About the Artist:

Irene Mabel Koch Born:  1929 – Detroit, Michigan

Known for:  Painting, teaching

Irene Mabel Koch (Born 1929) is active/lives in California, Michigan.  Irene Koch is known for Painting, teaching.

Gerd and Irene Koch at the Pasadena Art Museum are a husband and wife team of abstractionists whose works manage to retain distinctive individuality. Of the two, Gerd Koch is drawn closest to the outdoors. He transposes small sections of nature – the stubble of the field or tracks of animals- into abstract equivalents. Irene Koch, on the other hand, seeks to give visible shape to inner states of feeling rather than abstracting particular aspects of nature. Her characteristic signature is the arc line moving in and out of misted globules of warm color.

Irene Mable Koch, American artist. Recipient awards New Port Harbor, 1959, California Watercolor Society, 1959, 60, Pasadena Art Museum, Long Beach Art Museum, National Orange Show, 1961.

Paintings by Irene and Gerd Koch – Norton Simon Museum

JULY 22, 1958 – SEPTEMBER 9, 1958

Career

Judge National Watercolor Society, 1961.

Achievements

1. Irene Mable Koch has been listed as a notable artist by Marquis Who s Who.

Connections

Married Gerd Herman Koch, November 3, 1951 (divorced May 1981). 1 child, Kear.