Gino Hollander

Art Brokerage: Gino Hollander American Artist: b. 1924-2015. Born in 1924 in Newark, New Jersey, his adventures began at age 13 with a 1,000-mile bicycle trip, followed by his acceptance into the Army's Ski Troops, the Tenth Mountain Division, which brought him vis-a-vis with the most exciting and difficult time in his life. Plopped down in mountain combat in Northern Italy during WWII, he escaped with a blown-apart knee, crediting his survival to luck, nothing more. As many of the abstract expressionists, Hollander's art tells of his emotions, his reality and the push and pull of life, unlike the more restrained portrayal found in the works of Masters such as Giotto or from the era of Romanesque and Gothic art. Hollander prefers not to be categorized, concurring with the renowned art writer Andre' Malraux whom stated, "Style, which like architecture is a language, is not necessarily the most effective means of expressing what it represents." The core of this vibrant scene was the colorful characters, painters, writers, and musicians some with whom Gino mingled; one being "Jack the Dripper", Jackson Pollock, whom, like Hollander, raced Steve McQueen in his 57 MG tearing up New York, making the famous Cedar Tavern their pitstop. Norman Rockwell saw the freedom in Gino's paintings and requested that Gino come up to his studio and paint for a presidential commission as Rockwell, though a famous artist himself, claimed to not possess that elusive freedom. After, on a horse no less, gallantly rescuing Jacqueline Kennedy from the Spanish paparazzi in Pamplona during her first public outing after the death of JFK, Gino hosted her in his studio and gallery, making her a Gino Hollander collector. Sadly, the artist passed away on August 27, 2015.