2019
A forerunner of the post-painterly abstraction movement, contemporary artist Gary Komarin approaches each composition with a pure openness to inspiration. With every brushstroke, he builds a visual interpretation of his mindset in that moment, never knowing what he's going to paint next. Komarin asserts that, for him, "the best paintings are the paintings that paint themselves."
Komarin invites risk into his abstract work, and employs daring in every element of his pieces. From his adventurous deployment of spackle and house paint as mediums to his playful use of color and imperfect lines, he pulls forms from a backdrop of consciousness, rather than merely delivering images to a surface. He enjoys instilling a child's sense of wonder into his abstractions and still-lifes, invoking a toddler's experience of "seeing things without knowing what they are."
Born in New York City, Komarin is the son of a Czech architect and Austrian author. He attended art school at Boston University, where painter Phillip Guston became a mentor. Much of Komarin's work nods to Guston, without mimicking or replicating the latter’s signature cartoonish style.
Komarin has exhibited in the United States, Asia, the United Kingdom and throughout continental Europe. In 1996, his work was included in an exhibition at 41 Green Street in New York. He has received numerous awards, including the New York Foundation for the Arts grant in painting, the Joan Mitchell Prize in Painting and the Edward Albee Foundation Fellowship. Komarin lives in rural Connecticut, where he continues to create new work.
Find original Gary Komarin paintings, drawings and mixed media works on 1stDibs.
CAKES STACKED/SINGLE SACK (white on blue)
By Gary Komarin
Located in Fairfield, CT
Art in America Sarah S. King July 2003 Komarin’s most successful works are serial - such as the Pop-artish “cake” images - in which versions of a crudely outlined central image are...
Paper, Acrylic
Cake Stacked, Barcelona
By Gary Komarin
Located in London, GB
Gary Komarin Cake Stacked, Barcelona, 2025 Signed by the artist Enamel paint on wood panel 127 x 61 50 x 24 inches Eschewing traditional materials in favor of tarps and drop cloths,...
Enamel
Cake Painting (Blue, White, Black)
By Gary Komarin
Located in London, GB
Gary Komarin Cake Painting (Blue, White, Black), 2019 Signed on front of sheet Mixed media on paper 129 x 60 cm 51 x 24 inches Eschewing traditional materials in favor of tarps and ...
Mixed Media
Cake Stacked, Galisteo
By Gary Komarin
Located in London, GB
Gary Komarin Cake Stacked, Galisteo, 2025 Signed by the artist Enamel paint on wood panel 127 x 61 50 x 24 inches Eschewing traditional materials in favor of tarps and drop cloths, ...
Enamel
Stacked Cake: Black on Pale Pink and Grey
By Gary Komarin
Located in Fairfield, CT
Unique; water-based enamel paint on paper bags
Enamel
Cake Painting (Yellow, Blue)
By Gary Komarin
Located in London, GB
Gary Komarin Cake Painting (Yellow, Blue), 2019 Mixed media on paper 129 x 60 cm 51 x 24 inches Eschewing traditional materials in favor of tarps and drop cloths, spackle and house ...
Paper, Mixed Media
Cake
By Gary Komarin
Located in London, GB
Gary Komarin Cake , 2023 Acrylic on wood panel 127 x 61 cm 50 x 24 inches Eschewing traditional materials in favor of tarps and drop cloths, spackle and house paint, Gary Komarin fi...
Acrylic, Wood Panel
Cake
By Gary Komarin
Located in London, GB
Gary Komarin Cake, 2023 Acrylic on wood panel 50 x 24 inches Eschewing traditional materials in favor of tarps and drop cloths, spackle and house paint, Gary Komarin finds room in c...
Acrylic, Wood Panel
Cake Painting
By Gary Komarin
Located in London, GB
Gary Komarin Cake Painting , 2019 Signed on recto Mixed media on paper 129 x 60 cm 51 x 24 inches Eschewing traditional materials in favor of tarps and drop cloths, spackle and hous...
Mixed Media
Cake Stacked: Bright Pink on White
By Gary Komarin
Located in Fairfield, CT
Unique; Water-based enamel paint on paper stacks
Enamel
