American in Paris: nonagenarian Shirley Jaffe remains cutting edge
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

At the ripe age of 92, the Paris-based American painter Shirley Jaffe shows no sign whatsoever of slowing down. Now, the Fifth Avenue Tibor de Nagy Gallery is celebrating her mixed media works on paper from the last two decades, in a new eponymous exhibition.
More than 60 years ago, Jaffe moved to Paris and quickly established herself among a tight-knit circle of ex-pat American artists including Sam Francis, Ellsworth Kelly and Joan Mitchell. Even so, Jaffe eschewed Kelly’s rigid geometric forms and Mitchell’s brand of abstract expressionism.
‘Shirley hews to biomorphic shapes and forms, and some say her palette owes a nod to Matisse,’ says Andrew Arnot, Tibor de Nagy’s co-owner. Arnot has devoted five solo shows to Jaffe’s oeuvre, as well as featuring her work in a solo booth at the prestigious Art Dealers Association of America fair. Further proving her own prowess, Jaffe has garnered a total of 25 exhibitions in the US and in Europe, with the Pompidou and MoMA (opens in new tab) snapping up her paintings.
While Jaffe’s works on paper on occasion inform her oil paintings, the Left Bank artist has never thought of them as studies. ‘There’s a sense of fluidity and immediacy to Shirley’s works on paper,’ Arnot points out.
To this day, Jaffe is immersed in the cutting edge contemporary world. ’When I was last in Paris, we headed off to the galleries of Perrotin and Frank Elbaz,’ notes Arnot. One thing is certain – Jaffe is still a contender in the fast paced gallery scene.
‘Shirley hews to biomorphic shapes and forms, and some say her palette owes a nod to Matisse,’ says Andrew Arnot, Tibor de Nagy’s co-owner. Pictured left: Untitled . Right: Untitled, 1996
More than 60 years ago, Jaffe moved to Paris and quickly established herself among a tight-knit circle of esteemed ex-pat American artists, including Ellsworth Kelly and Joan Mitchell.
Despite this, Jaffe’s work eschews Kelly’s rigid geometric forms and Mitchell’s brand of abstract expressionism. Pictured left: Untitled. Right: Untitled
Jaffe has garnered an impressive 25 exhibitions in the US and in Europe, with the Pompidou and MoMA snapping up her paintings. Pictured left: Untitled . Right: Untitled
INFORMATION
‘Shirley Jaffe: Works on Paper’ is on view until 30 April. For more information, visit the Tibor de Nagy Gallery website
ADDRESS
Tibor de Nagy Gallery
724 Fifth Ave
New York
NY 10019
View Google Maps (opens in new tab)
TELEPHONE
1.212 262 5050
-
London Original Print Fair 2023: 10 prints on our radar, from Brian Eno to Tracey Emin
As London Original Print Fair 2023 kicks off (until 2 April 2023), explore the 10 prints on our wish list this year, from Brian Eno to Tracey Emin; Mona Hatoum to Harland Miller
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Inside the new Prada Caffè at Harrods, a candy box of Italian delights
Opening 31 March 2023, Prada Caffè features an array of picture-perfect pastries, pastas and aperitifs in a space designed by the Italian house – all the way down to the sugar packets
By Mary Cleary • Published
-
Cadillac Celestiq EV is a bespoke super saloon, paired with a midcentury modern customer experience centre
Cadillac House at Vanderbilt was originally designed by Eero Saarinen. Now restored and updated, it serves as the customer centre for the new Cadillac Celestiq – a statement electric saloon and the most customisable Cadillac ever
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
John-Paul Philippe presents ‘Ombre’, an evocative show at Cristina Grajales, New York
New York gallerist Cristina Grajales presents 'Ombre' by John-Paul Philippe (until 28 April 2023): the artist tells us about this new body of work, and finding inspiration in parakeets
By Emily R. Pellerin • Published
-
Janny Baek’s psychedelic ceramics are objects in flux
We speak to Korean-American architect and sculptor Janny Baek about expressing ‘vibrancy, pleasure, and hope’ through her vivid ceramics ahead of a major show at Culture Object, New York
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
Wangechi Mutu’s fantastical creatures take over the New Museum
Wangechi Mutu’s ‘Intertwined' at the New Museum, NYC, until 4 June 2023, is a major survey spanning the full breadth of the Kenyan-born American artist’s work
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
New York art exhibitions: what to see in 2023
Stay up-to-date with our ongoing guide to the best New York art exhibitions 2023 for your diary
By Tilly Macalister-Smith • Published
-
Heaven on Earth: architect Toshiko Mori curates Candida Höfer’s sublime new photography show
At Sean Kelly, New York, architect Toshiko Mori is curating a new show by Candida Höfer, spanning a 30-year period of the German photographer’s spatially sublime work
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
‘The Yanomami Struggle’: piercing New York show sheds light on an Amazonian community under critical threat
Now on view at The Shed in New York, ‘The Yanomami Struggle’ is a poignant exhibition dedicated to the friendship between artist and activist Claudia Andujar and the Yanomami people, and their collective fight against invasion
By Tilly Macalister-Smith • Published
-
Stephen Shore book ‘Topographies’ sees the photographer take his eye to the USA’s skies
Stephen Shore book ‘Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape’ offers a fresh photographic view of the USA’s vast and varied idiosyncrasies
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Pictures from Home: photographer Larry Sultan’s domestic drama arrives on Broadway
Winner of ‘Best Adaptation’ in the 2023 Wallpaper* Design Awards, Pictures from Home at Studio 54 brings the memoir of American photographer Larry Sultan to Broadway, starring Nathan Lane, Danny Burstein and Zoë Wanamaker
By Sophie Gladstone • Published