Louisa Chase, Painter Was 65
Louisa Chase, a painter who came to prominence in the 1970s with the ascent of the Neo-Expressionists, died of cancer on May 8 at home in East Hampton. She was 65 and had been ill for seven years.
While in graduate school at Yale in 1975, Ms. Chase was selected for her first solo show at Artists Space in New York City by Joan Snyder. After graduating, she moved to New York, where she became friends with many of the rising artists of her generation. She had her first commercial gallery show in 1978.
Ms. Chase rejected Minimalism and Conceptual Art in favor of figuration, symbolism, and narrative. Her work was characterized by bold colors and brushstrokes, sometimes including elements of the figure and dark calligraphic scribbles, often contrasted by geometric forms. Mel Kendrick, a sculptor and friend, said, her work “was totally outside the existing dialectic of abstraction and representation. . . . She had a very clear idea of what she had to paint. Her art from that time might be seen as an expression of turmoil, albeit through a child-like imagery. She painted in a fast, gestural, cartoonish style that belied the deep focus she brought to her work.”
“Louisa Chase was one of my favorite people,” said Mary Heilmann, an artist who, like Mr. Kendrick, divides her time between New York and the South Fork. “I met her when she first came to New York. Her work was beautiful, original and edgy. So was she.” Ms. Heilman said she was living at the Cozy Cabins in Wainscott in 1983, and Ms. Chase “spent many evenings there in my little cabin drinking lots of red wine and gossiping and talking about our work.”
Louisa Chase was born in Panama City, Panama, on March 18, 1951, to Benjamin Chase and the former Wilda Stengel, who survives. She grew up in Mount Gretna, Pa., studied painting and sculpture at Syracuse University, and earned an M.F.A. from the Yale University School of Art in 1975. Her work was exhibited internationally, including at the 1984 Venice Biennale, and can be found in public collections throughout the country. Her last gallery exhibition was at Halsey Mckay in East Hampton in 2011.
Ms. Chase bought a house in Sag Harbor in 1991 and later moved to East Hampton. “One thing that keeps coming to mind is her love for the outdoors,” said Virva Hinnemo, a Springs artist. “She loved kayaking on the bay. When she lived in the city she was part of a group of people who gave free kayaking lessons on the Hudson River.” She also kept a sailboat in Sag Harbor.
George Negroponte, an artist who lives in Springs, met Ms. Chase in New York in the 1970s. “She and her closest friends at the time, Elizabeth Murray and Susan Rothenberg, all made one hell of a statement. Louise remained dedicated to her ideals, but life intervened in very difficult ways and the obstacle course proved too tough. Remarkably, she remained pure as a painter. I hope that counts more than anything.”
In addition to her mother, who lives in Cornwall, Pa., a sister, Abigail Chase of Lebanon, Pa., and a brother, Ben Chase of Los Angeles, survive. The family has suggested memorial donations to the American Cancer Society, P.O. B