About the Artist
Rhoda Weissman 1929-2016 Abstract Expressionistic Artist
Contemporary turbulent disturbing imagery from an artist unappreciated in life
Why wasn't the work of semi-abstract mixed media expressionistic artist Rhoda Weissman (1929-2016) fully appreciated during her lifetime? What stories lie beneath the brushstrokes of her magnificently energetic and dark turbulent imagery?
Some sixty years later, after her death, a private collector purchased her remaining paintings from her personal estate. These "lost" paintings are reemerging and she is now finally receiving the praise and recognition she always deserved!
Rhoda Yvette Weissman was born and raised in New York in 1929 and died in California in 2016. She has been an exhibiting artist since the late 1950's. She started painting and exhibiting in New York during the Abstract Expressionistic era of Pollack and de Kooning, and studied with the artist Charles Seide at a time when women did not get the respect they deserved based solely on gender. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibition and juried shows in California and New York for over five decades. Her work has often been compared to the likes of Lee Krasner and Elaine de Kooning.
A true feminist evolving through the years, much of her imagery appears out of her views of the world; the disenfranchised, the homeless, and injustices with women – all intense reflections of moments in our society as seen through her brush. Her jagged lines, dramatic forms, vibrant colors and violent images are meant to be viewed from all angles as she always turned her paintings while working on them to observe them from all sides.
In her abstract series, Rhoda never approached the canvas with a preconceived notion of what she would paint, instead she looked for the painting’s clues. These expressionistic mixed media paintings are spontaneous expressions of the present moment and include the Homeless series and the Death series. Most of her works were created and steeped in social commentary, e.g., "Trapped" is a mixed media piece showing a woman getting an abortion with the nine supreme court justices peering from behind. Her paintings achieve visceral feelings and reactions from her viewers. Her social views are clearly seen in the Homeless series, the Death series, the Doll series, and the Nude series.
Rhoda went back and forth from her more abstract series to the Russian Dolls series simultaneously. The dolls represented modern women entrapped and locked in position. Hands close to the bodies, dressed in traditional garb. The women's eyes rove, their heads may change position, but they remain confined. The Russian doll series is a metaphor about women in our time who still play their conventional roles in society.
Her other series include: Self Portraits, Nudes, Florals, Asian, and Playful Pop art. In total, less than 200 original paintings and sketches were created during her lifetime.
All Rhoda's paintings use the same brilliant colors, dynamic movements, and underlying psychological thread that have always been part of her presentations.
Rhoda graduated college with a BA in Fine Art, Cal State University Northridge, and an MA in Art therapy, Goddard College.
Rhoda Weissman’s paintings are displayed in museums, galleries, and private collections in New York and California. She was married for over fifty years to the love of her life, Albert Weissman, sculptor. Also deceased are her two sons that passed before her death.
The art of Rhoda Weissman is or has been exhibited and/or sold in museums, galleries, universities and government facilities including but not necessarily limited to the following:
Alpert Jewish Community Center, Long Beach, CA
Amel Gallery, New York, NY
Artcore Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Artspace Gallery, Woodland Hills, CA
Beverly Hills Art League, Beverly Hills, CA
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL
Bridge Gallery, City Hall, Los Angeles, CA
Burbank Central Library Art Gallery, Burbank, CA
Century Gallery, Sylmar, CA
Downey Museum, Downey, CA
Environment Gallery, New York, NY
Finegood Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Fullerton College Gallery, Fullerton, CA
Galerie Galerie, Los Angeles, CA
Gallery 57, Fullerton, CA
Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
Hippodrome Gallery, Long Beach, CA
Installations Gallery, Encino, CA
Joslyn Fine Arts Gallery, Torrance, CA
Kwok Wau Lau Studio Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
LA Artcore Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
Laguna Woods Art Association, Laguna Woods, CA
Lancaster Museum, Lancaster, CA
Long Beach Art Association, Long Beach, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, CA
Minus Zero Gallery, Torrance, CA
Mount St. Mary’s College, Brentwood, CA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
North Shore Community Arts Center, New York, NY
Open Studio, Los Angeles, CA
Pacific Art Guild, Pacific Palisades, CA
Pacific Palisades Library Art Gallery, Pacific Palisades, CA
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
Palo Alto Cultural Center, Fullerton, CA
Pauline & Zena Gatov Gallery, Long Beach, CA
Roberts Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Santa Monica College Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Santa Monica Library, Santa Monica, CA
Silvermine Guild of Artists, PA
Simon Wiesenthal Center, Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles, CA
Thousand Oaks Art Association, Thousand Oaks, CA
Torrance Cultural Art Center, Torrance, CA
Unity Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
University of Judaism, Los Angeles, CA
Vista del Mar Art Show, Los Angeles, CA
West Valley Jewish Center, Woodland Hills, CA
Westchester Art Society, New York, NY
Westwood Art Association Gallery, Westwood, CA
William Grant Still Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
Zora’s Art Gallery, Brentwood, CA
