Werner and Sarah-Ann (Wynn and Sally) Kramarsky have been collectors, curators, and collaborators in the realm of Post-Minimalist and Conceptual art for decades. After amassing a large collection, they opened an exhibition space in New York’s SoHo in 1992 where they showed works by both well-known and emerging artists. They also anonymously loaned works to museum exhibitions and helped to establish a network of artists and curators who shared their passion for conceptual and abstract drawing. Through their generous gifts, the Kramaskys have helped museums to develop or expand their contemporary drawing collections. They have donated works to Birmingham’s Art Fund, Inc. three times since 2005, and their fourth and most recent gift of 19 works brings our total to 52 works from the Kramarsky collection.
The works share some aesthetic relationships in that these artists explore themes about the nature of art itself. Pure abstraction becomes a way to represent the world while mark making refers to time and space, and mundane images and words draw our attention to complex thought. These works are intimate and contemplative, giving us a glimpse of the artistic process at work.