Sacha Kolin (1911 - 1981)

Sacha Kolin (1911 Paris-1981 NYC) grew up in Vienna, where she trained
at the Kunstgewerbeschule and Academy of Fine Arts and exhibited at the
Secession and Künstlerhaus. In 1933, Kolin returned to Paris and
studied in the studio of Naum Aronson, formerly a stonecarver for
Rodin. She participated in several Paris Salons and in 1935, was
elected Societaire - the youngest full member - of the Nationale
Societe des Beaux Arts. At age 25, Kolin immigrated to the United
States and settled in New York City. From the 1940s, she was inspired
by American Indian lore and iconography. In the 1950s, Kolin hosted a
color workshop in her studio with fellow émigré Hannes Beckmann and
developed further in a non-objective style. Music was another passion,
and Kolin sought to convey a lyrical expressiveness in her canvases.
Her work of this time - in particular her watercolors - is likened to
that of Kandinsky and Klee; her later painted sculpture and
calligraphic drawings, to Arp and Miró. From the 1960s, Kolin's
three-dimensional work became increasingly geometric and addresses
weight and balance, tension and grace. Her monumental aluminum
sculpture "Drawing in the Sky #1" (1973) remains on display at the
Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. Kolin was a member of
Artist's Equity Association, E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and
Technology), League of Present Day Artists, and National Association of
Women Artists. Her career history includes over 125 solo and group
exhibitions; she is represented in over 70 public and private art
collections in the United States and abroad. Lisa Thaler, a
Chicago-based genealogist with a special interest in artist émigrés of
the World War II period, created and maintains a private archive of
Sacha Kolin and is writing the artist's biography. Thaler is keeping a
catalogue of the whereabouts of Kolin's work. If you have such
information, or desire further information about Sacha Kolin, please
contact Lisa Thaler <lisathaler@sbcglobal.net>. © Lisa Thaler 2003 All
Rights Reserved.