Paul Feeley

Paul Feeley taught painting at Bennington College, in Vermont, from 1943 until his death in 1966. He established Bennington as one of the most important art schools in America by encouraging students to experiment and by inviting avant-garde artists to lecture. He rejected "heart-on-the-sleeve" painting and made his students speak at length about the smallest details of a piece so that they would understand the importance of thinking and decision-making. In his own work, Feeley painted patterns of symmetrical, curving shapes in bright colors and in the 1960s began to sculpt similar forms by interlocking two or three undulating, colorful panels. Whether in two or three dimensions, Feeley's images strike a balance between stillness and dynamic movement.

Text © Smithsonian American Art Museum