Gunther Gerzso (1915-2000)

"The defining moment for me was the discovery of pre-Columbian art," Gerzso emphasized. "I got passionate about its emotional and spiritual value. From then on, I sought to express the atmosphere of Mexico." Drawing inspiration from the rich textures and colors of his native land, Gerzso's paintings penetratingly channel the spiritual state and psychic imagination of the Mexican landscape. "I am not an abstract painter, but a landscape painter," Gerzso once reflected. "I am a great admirer of this country—of its culture and landscape—that is what influences my painting" (quoted in Diana C. du Pont, Risking the Abstract: Mexican Modernism and the Art of Gunther Gerzso, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 2003, p. 110, 114).