A key figure in the establishment of the Tanager Gallery and a second-generation Abstract Expressionist, Charles Cajori (1921-2013) enjoyed a remarkable career during a pivotal period in postwar American art history. Upon his arrival in New York in 1946, he played a pivotal role in the founding of the Tanager Gallery on 10th Street in 1952, which served as a vital hub and exhibition space for the burgeoning New York School of artists. Cajori also co-founded the New York Studio School in 1964, an exceptional art school known for its "atelier" approach, which still operates today.
Beneath the surface of his painting endeavors were enduring preoccupations with space, form, and the creation of pictorial space through the interplay of color planes, which he referred to as the "swift continuum of space." Cajori fervently explored how shifts in colors could infuse artwork with rhythmic urgency and luminous qualities. He characterized the canvas or paper surface as a "spatial arena" or a "field of energy," where intricate relationships and tensions constantly emerged and were subject to ongoing reevaluation. Such dynamic interplays resulted in what he termed "dislocations from the 'normative.'" Cajori believed that achieving harmony in forms couldn't be rationalized or designed; it materialized intuitively as a final expression. This continuous, enigmatic continuum, he posited, reflected aspects of human experience and the challenge of reconciling ourselves with nature. Painting, for Cajori, transcended the mundane and almost bordered on a metaphysical pursuit, demanding a heightened, almost spiritual awareness of the act of seeing.
Cajori held a particular fascination for the works of Cézanne and what he perceived as Cézanne's transformative impact on perception. Cajori's own art grappled with the legacy of the French master, with his staccato, animated brushwork mirroring the idea that our eyes are never static when we perceive and observe.
While Cajori did produce landscapes and non-representational pieces in the 1940s and early 1950s, his primary focus shifted to the human figure in the 1960s. Throughout his career, he navigated the tension between the fixed form of the figure and the ever-changing nature of perceptual reality. He aimed to depict the human figure with a colorful expressionism reminiscent of artists like Matisse and de Kooning.
In the catalog for his final solo exhibition in New York, Cajori articulated his aesthetic philosophy, emphasizing the acknowledgment of chaos, its inherent contradictions, and unpredictable forces. This was followed by a struggle for coherence, not the illusion of coherence, but one rooted in time, space, and form. His approach was improvisational, multi-layered, and non-rational. The resulting structures may appear complete, but they held a hint of an evolving stage. Cajori believed that new approaches were constantly required, and these structures endlessly evolved. This "struggle for coherence" at the core of form is palpable in his paintings, which feature energetic sweeps of lines and colors seemingly in a constant struggle to attain form and become visually intelligible entities.
An accomplished teacher, Cajori exerted a profound influence and served as a formidable mentor to many. He taught at institutions such as Cooper Union, Queens College, and Berkeley, where he worked alongside artists like Richard Diebenkorn and Elmer Bischoff. He encouraged his students to abandon preconceived notions of seeing and instead perceive spatial relationships in a fresh light. For instance, he would prompt his students to observe a window and notice how the sky adheres to the glass.
Born in 1921 in Palo Alto, Cajori pursued his artistic education at the Colorado Springs Art Center, Cleveland Art School, and Columbia University. His work can be found in numerous public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hirshhorn Museum, Whitney Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, Walker Art Center, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Arkansas Art Center, and the National Academy of Design, among others. His exceptional career was marked by several accolades, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, a Jimmy Ernst Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as NEA and a Fulbright grant.