Individual: ENT.0445

Pat Passlof

1928 – 2011

Pat Passlof was a student at Black Mountain College during the Summer Institute of 1948, when she studied closely with Willem de Kooning, Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller, M.C. Richards and Merce Cunningham. Passlof’s time at BMC was central to her development as an artist. After BMC, she continued her studies with de Kooning as his private student in New York City. In some circles, Pat is known first for her role as the wife of painter Milton Resnick, an association which has, to some degree, eclipsed her own prolific career as a painter. However, before the beginning of her relationship with Resnick, Passlof’s influence on the New York School was strong. She was a driving force behind the cooperative exhibitions of the Tenth Street galleries, organizing collective outreach efforts and galvanizing collaboration. A regular at the “Club,” Passlof quietly absorbed the constant dialogue of its members and continued those discussions with her contemporaries. To create a space for this second generation of voices, Passlof founded a junior Club on Wednesday nights, which was quickly ousted upon the discovery that their numbers had grown to over fifty in just three short weeks. Despite challenges such as these, Passlof persevered and left her mark as a practicing painter, teacher and writer–a path that she continues to forge today.

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