MARION RANYAK (1925 - 2018, AMERICAN) Untitled, (MR - 040).
Acrylic on canvas, 1968. Inscribed, MR - 040, on stretcher. 940x1220 mm; 37x48 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Private collection, CA.
In 1946, Marion Ranyak spent six weeks in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she studied with the painter Hans Hofmann. This was a pivotal time for her, confirming directions in her art she intuitively engaged prior to meeting Hofmann. Ranyak was a founding member of SOHO20, the second all-women, artist-run art gallery in New York City. At SOHO20, she initially exhibited painted geometric abstractions and cement sandcastings and later used realism in nature to portray form and color. She participated in over 17 solo and group shows at SOHO20 throughout her career. Her acrylic paintings were positively reviewed in The New York Times by Vivian Raynor, who described her work as "modest" but with "an air of authority." Raynor later wrote that Ranyak "makes Neil Welliver look like an Expressionist." Ranyak remained a full member of SOHO20 until 1988 and continued as an associate member until 1995. In addition to her shows at SOHO20, Marion Ranyak participated in well over 85 solo, group, and juried shows in a great variety of venues in New York City, the tri-state region, and farther afield, throughout her prolific artistic career.
