(Untitled fractal abstraction)

Dorothy Heller

New York City-based Abstract Expressionist Dorothy Heller studied under Hans Hoffman, as well as at the Art Students League. This piece shows the beginning of her transition from subdued palettes and Cubist, figurative imagery, to vivid colors and nonobjective compositions that took up most of her work in the 1950s to early 1960s. This period of intense visual exploration, especially with her use of fractal shapes and gemstone hues, was a precursor to her later symbolist work that calls to mind the paintings of Hilma af Klimt. 1957 was also the year that Heller participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art's annual exhibition, alongside Louise Bourgeoise, Alexander Calder, Lee Krasner, Karl Knaths, etc.

Despite her talent and her over fifty years of working and exhibiting, Heller's name often flies under the radar. In 2018 the Water Wickiser Gallery held a retrospective of her work entitled "Dorothy Heller: Abstract Expressionist and Symbolist Paintings."