NEW YORK, NY.- Skarstedt announced the representation of internationally acclaimed American painter and sculptor Eric Fischl. Skarstedt will present a solo exhibition of new paintings by Fischl at the gallery's Upper East Side location in May 2016.

One of the most influential figurative painters of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Fischl has been the subject of numerous solo and major group show exhibitions, with works represented in distinguished museums throughout the world. Skarstedt previously exhibited early paintings by Fischl in May 2011 in New York, showcasing what The New York Times’ art critic Ken Johnson called “psychologically astounding paintings.” (1) Fischl joins Skarstedt’s roster of important midcareer artists, such as American painters David Salle and George Condo.

Fischl was born in 1948 and grew up in the suburbs of Long Island. He attended Phoenix College and earned his B.F.A. from the California Institute for the Arts in 1972. He then spent some time in Chicago, where he worked as a guard at the Museum of Contemporary Art. In 1974, he moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to teach painting at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Fischl had his first solo show, curated by Bruce W. Ferguson, at Dalhousie Art Gallery in Nova Scotia in 1975 before relocating to New York City in 1978. His first New York City solo show, at Edward Thorp Gallery in 1979, received critical attention for depicting the dark, disturbing undercurrents of mainstream American life.

Fischl's paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints have been the subject of numerous solo and major group exhibitions and his work is represented in many museums, as well as prestigious private and corporate collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modem Art in New York City, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, St. Louis Art Museum, Louisiana Museum of Art in Denmark, Musèe Beaubourg in Paris, The Paine Weber Collection, and many others. Fischl has collaborated with other artists and authors, including E.L. Doctorow, Allen Ginsberg, Jamaica Kincaid, Jerry Saltz and Frederic Tuten.

Fischl is a Fellow at both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Science. He lives and works in Sag Harbor, New York with his wife, the painter April Gornik.


(1) Johnson, Ken (2011, May 13). Eric Fischl: ‘Early Paintings.’ The New York Times, p. C25.