JACOB SEMIATIN Watercolors: 1950-1962

1stdibs and the Serge Castella Gallery are set to present an exciting exhibition of Jacob Semiatin’s Watercolors. This is the first selling exhibition of works by this noted and reclusive Brooklyn Abstract Expressionist artist in over half a century. Opening May 2nd at the 1stdibs Gallery at the New York Design Center and simultaneously online at 1stdibs.com, the show will reintroduce Semiatin’s work to today’s art and decorative world with a colorful exhibition featuring over 20 of his dreamlike abstract watercolors created between 1950 and 1962. It runs until May 31st and is open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm. Serge Castella, owner of the eponymous gallery and noted interior designer based in Girona, Spain, recently discovered this trove of Semiatin’s work in Europe. Castella along with 1stidbs has curated the collection and he states how lucky he was to discover Semiatin who until today has been almost forgotten.

Jacob Semiatin was born in Dublin in 1915 to Hungarian Jewish parents who immigrated to Brooklyn, NY. He spent most of his career living and painting the neighborhoods of his adopted town and during the 1930s and 1940s was an active member of the Brooklyn Society of Artists that included Gerard Schneider, Nicolas de Staël, and Jackson Pollock and who showed at the Brooklyn Museum. He also enjoyed friendship with James Johnson Sweeny, the 2nd director of the Guggenheim Museum (1952-1960), as well as with Leo Castelli.

Says Castella: “Semiatin was a recluse long before his death in 2003. He didn’t exhibit or sell his paintings and often argued with his friend Leo Castelli about this. As a result, the majority of them were seldom shown and rarely sold.” Nonetheless, Semiatin did receive shows during his lifetime at The Brooklyn Museum, the Contemporary Arts Gallery and The Galerie Internationale both in New York. A small selection of his abstract and figurative works can be found in the permanent collections of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in NYC, Houston Museum of Modern Art, The Jewish Museum, Dublin, Ireland, the Ted Turner private collection and the William Clinton Library.

The 1stdibs Gallery at the New York Design Center: 200 Lexington Avenue at 32ndStreet, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10016.