Zygmunt Menkes (1896 Lviv - 1986 Riverdale), Birthday party

oil, canvas, 46 × 61 cm
Signed p. d.: Menkes
"Menkes is considered one of the most outstanding colorists of our time and there are few artists equal to him in their sense and skill of using color. His color has been variously described by critics - as warm, sensual, elegant or exquisite. Using a brush or spatula, he lays down paint with passion and verve so that the texture of the finished work appears almost raw, "unpolished." This gives his works a strong effect of spontaneity yet splendor, which evokes an enthusiastic and lively response in the viewer. For example, Menkes likes to paint female nudes in dark reds. In doing so, he explains that what he is trying to show is not the natural color of the skin, but the warmth and magnetism of the woman. It is the red that symbolizes this. Looking closely at his paintings, one can see that underneath this outward coarseness lies a special sensitivity, for his canvases are made up of countless almost imperceptible touches of the brush; the colors sparkle like jewels, and by combining they form the final magnificent tonality. A white flower viewed up close is actually a mosaic of rainbow hues. What looks like deep black is actually a rich mixture of primary colors. Using black for outlines and calm colors on the edges of the intense colors, Menkes organizes his canvases in such a way that if we were to omit their subjects they could successfully be perceived as abstract compositions."
Emery Grossman, Art and Tradition, Thomas Yoseloff Ltd., New York 1967, [in:] Sigmund Menkes 1896-1986, New York, 1993, p. 19.