About the Artist

 

This series of work began in Rome in 1975. The work reflects what was going on in the art world at that time, or at least the art world in New York City. Pattern painting, the minimalism of Don Judd’s stacked boxes, Josef Albers squares, and Agnes Martin’s gridded fields, were in the air.

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While living in Rome from 1975-1977, Rauffenbart absorbed the Etruscan art that he encountered in the Villa Giulia near his studio. Roman wall paintings and mosaics in the museums and excavations around Rome and Naples, and medieval stone walls in Tuscany and Umbria all made an impression on his work. 

 

In 1972 and 1973, Rauffenbart studied in Provincetown, MA where the special light at the end of Cape Cod inspired generations of artists. The Abstract Expressionists Hofmann, Tworkov, Motherwell, Rothko and many other painters took summer residences there.

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In Rauffenbart’s paintings, the symmetry is offset by the sensuality of the materials. The contrast of textures and the painterly incidents at the edges are essential details in understanding the work. He sees a kinship with the abstract expressionist painters of the previous generation.

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Rauffenbart joined the Gross McLeaf Gallery, located in Philadelphia, PA, in 1978.

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In 1983, Rauffenbart moved to lower Manhattan where he lives with his family and continues to make art​.