Youngerman, Jack

* 1926

biography

Jack Youngerman, born in Louisville, Kentucky, studied at the University of North Carolina, the University of Missouri, and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. A magician of optics, Youngerman creates illusions with a series of prints based on a single geometric shape. The central image remains constant, as does its indeterminate background. Only the colors vary to create subtle changes in the perception of the subject and its relationship to the environment. Youngerman's awards include the National Council of Arts and Sciences Award in 1966, the National Endowment for the Arts Award in 1972, and a Guggenheim Fellowship Award in 1976.
Between 1950 and 1982 he had 35 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 66 group exhibitions. Public collections of his work can be found in the Art Institute of Chicago, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, and the Museum of Fine Art, Houston.