John Ulbricht

JOHN ULBRICHT (Havana, Cuba, 1926 – Palma de Mallorca, 2006)
“Mushrooms,” 1975.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower corner. Signed, dated, and titled on the reverse.
Exhibited at Sala Pelaires, John Ulbricht, Mallorca, 1975.
Measurements: 114 × 146 cm.

“Mushrooms” belongs to the most distinctive phase of John Ulbricht’s work, centered on the monumental enlargement of natural forms and everyday objects. The mushrooms occupy virtually the entire pictorial surface, stripped of spatial references and transformed into volumes with an organic, almost corporeal appearance. The scale of the canvas intensifies this perception and brings the subject closer to the immersive quality of his well-known large-format portraits.

The artist constructs the image through successive layers of oil paint and a restrained palette of whites, ochres, and violet tones. The light emerges against the dark background and slowly shapes the caps, stems, and folds, while the texture of the canvas remains visible beneath the paint. The result maintains a connection to figuration but moves away from the traditional still life to transform the natural subject into an exploration of form, light, and the ambiguity of matter. His participation in the solo exhibition held at the Sala Pelaires in 1975 also provides a relevant documentary context for the lot.

John Ulbricht grew up in Chicago and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1946 to 1950. After furthering his education in Mexico and working at the Denver Art Museum, he settled in Mallorca in 1954 with the painter Angela von Neumann. From the island, he developed an international career dedicated to portraiture, landscape, and the enlarged representation of organic forms. He held exhibitions in cities such as London, New York, Paris, Madrid, and Palma, and his work is represented in institutions such as the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.