480__698w_Colors_at_the_Saint_Louis_Art_Museum
"St. Louis Art Museum," Max Scharf, courtesy maxscharf.com
When Max Scharf passed away in July, St. Louis – and, for that matter, the world – lost one of its most talented colorists. But Scharf was also a precisionist, a unique talent who embodied the literal connotation of painterly. Inspired by the concise, curvy brushstokes of Van Gogh, his sprawling landscapes and rivers eschew the attempted photo-realism of painters who try to capture nature in a nutshell. Scharf, by blurring the line between color and texture, imbued even the most rustic settings with a phantasmic surreality; yet the works convey a natural – even pastoral – believeability. He has many styles and influences, actually – everything from Monet to abstract expressionism. And Scharf was the rare artist who knew how to market his work. He even wrote a how-to-sell-your-paintings booklet to help starving artists swallow food instead of their pride. He wore many hats – make that shirts. Scharf is credited with being the first person to mass-market T-shirts with corporate logos and slogans printed on them. Best of all, he was famously generous when it came to donating his paintings to benefit causes like Cerebral Palsy. Indeed, he spread a little color wherever he went. Don’t miss Max Scharf’s “Radiant Harmonies” exhibition, beginning tonight, September 4 - October 18 at the Saint Louis University Museum of Art, 3663 Lindell Boulevard (sluma.slu.edu). --Jordan Oakes
