Don Suggs

DON SUGGS (USA, 1945- 2019).
"Cardinal Inquisitor," 2009.
Oil on canvas adhered to wood.
Signed, titled and dated on the back.
Features label on verso.
Attached label of the Californian gallery Louver, and explanatory document.
Acquired at ARCO 2010 by the current owner.
Measurements: 152,4 cm (diameter).

"Cardinal Inquisitor" is a key work in the series of "concentric circles" by American artist Don Suggs, who worked constantly between geometric structure and the psychological perception of color. The painting consists of a succession of very thin concentric rings, arranged from the center outward with almost digital precision. Each ring alternates saturated and contrasting colors: intense reds, acid yellows, electric greens, cold blues... There are no smooth gradients, but abrupt jumps. This chromatic discontinuity produces an optical vibration, almost as if the image wanted to move or expand. The radial structure functions as a hypnotic peephole, a visual shot reminiscent of both pop art targets and psychedelic mandalas of the 1960s.

But unlike other Op Art artists who sought simply to alter perception, Suggs introduces semantic play into the titles. "Cardinal Inquisitor" suggests an authoritative figure. Suddenly, the circle is no longer just a shape: it becomes an eye, a panoptic structure, control, surveillance. Suggs turns geometric rigor into a sensorial ritual.

Don Suggs was an American artist based in Los Angeles, California. His paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures are notable for their use of color. Suggs was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in San Diego. He graduated in 1969 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he studied psychology, film and art. He earned a master's degree in 1971 and a master of fine arts degree in 1972 from UCLA. Suggs taught drawing, painting, sculpture and color theory between 1972 and 1984 at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Franconia College in New Hampshire, the University of Southern California and the Otis Art Institute. Between 1983 and 2014, he taught painting and drawing at UCLA. Over the years, he has been co-editor with Paul Vangelisti of several non-profit publications on art and literature-Boxcar, Forehead, and Ribot. He published four books of art and poetry, in collaboration with Paul Vangelisti and Martha Ronk.

He lived and worked in Los Angeles. During his career, he has worked in periods of three to five years with a particular style. Suggs' major works include Passions, Autochthonous Views, Proprietary Views, Portraits, Old Genres, Heuristic Paintings, Tondototems, Paint Ons and Feastpoles. Suggs' work is varied and includes geometric abstraction, abstract expressionism, conceptualism, photorealism and pop art, and he has been described as "an artist for artists".

He received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in both 1973 and 1991. Since 1970, Suggs' works have been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States. His work is represented by L.A. Louver Gallery in Venice, California.