Mary Obering
Mary Obering (1937 – July 29, 2022) was an American painter focusing mainly on geometric abstraction.
Also recorded as Mary Amanda McLean Obering · Mary McLean Obering · Mary Amanda McLean · Mary McLean
Mary Obering
- Name
- Mary Obering
- Born
- 1937
- Birthplace
- Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
- Died
- July 29, 2022 (aged 85)
- Place of death
- New York, U.S.
- Known for
- Abstract art
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- painter · printmaker · artist
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Mary Obering (1937 – July 29, 2022) was an American painter focusing mainly on geometric abstraction.
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Documentary evidence
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wikidata · Q22002909 · wikipedia · Mary Obering
In this article
Biography
Biography
The field of work recorded is abstract art. Work by Mary Obering is recorded in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, Yale University Art Gallery, Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Vanderbilt Museum of Art.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Mary Obering • Born — 1937 • Birthplace — Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. • Died — July 29, 2022 (aged 85) • Place of death — New York, U.S. • Known for — Abstract art • Website — http: www.maryobering.com/
Early life and education
Early life and education
Obering was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1937. When Obering was a teenager, she visited Italy for the first time – the formative trip introduced her to art and Renaissance painting, an experience that Obering said "was always in the back of [her] mind." Obering received her BA in psychology from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia in 1959. Later that year, she attended graduate school for psychology at Radcliffe College, studying under noted behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner, who taught at Harvard University at the time. Obering then moved to New York City to work for CBS, where she studied at the Art Students League. In the mid-1960s she moved again, this time to Denver with her husband and young daughter and received an MFA from the University of Denver in 1971.
Exhibitions
Exhibitions
In September 2018, Obering had a solo exhibition in Los Angeles at Kayne Griffin Corcoran where she exhibited acrylic on canvas paintings from the 1970s. Obering is represented by both Kayne Griffin Corcoran in Los Angeles and Bortolami in New York.
Selected Exhibition History
Selected Exhibition History
Source:
Group
Group
• Denver Art Museum, 1969 • Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (Biennial), 1975 • Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, 2002 • Robin Rule Gallery of Contemporary Art, Denver, 2003
Solo
Solo
• Great Western United Galleries, Denver, 1971 • University of Denver Galleries, Denver, 1971 • Artists Space, New York, 1973 • Soho Center for the Visual Arts, New York 1973 • Interart Gallery, New York, 1981 • Julian Pretto Gallery, San Jose, Costa Rica, 1983 • Jan Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, California, 1990 • Julian Pretto Gallery, New York 1990 • Plus-Kern Gallery, Brussels, Belgium 1991 • Julian Pretto Gallery, New York 1991 • Jan Turner Gallery, Los Angeles 1992 • Julian Pretto Gallery, New York 1993 • Jan Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, California, 1994 • Galerie Hugo Minnen, Antwerp, Belgium, 1994 • Littlejohn/Sternau Gallery, New York, 1995 • Primo Piano, Rome, Italy, 1996 • Robin Rule Modern and Contemporary Art, Denver, 1996 • Hugo Minnen Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium, 1997 • Robin Rule Modern and Contemporary Art, Denver, 1999 • Marfa Hotel, Marfa, Texas, 2000 • Gallery 668, Greenwich, New York, 2001 • Ninni Esposito Arte Contemporanea, Bari Italy, 2001 • Rule Modern and Contemporary Art, Denver, 2003 • Gallery 668 Greenwich, New York, 2004 • Studio G7 Bologna, Italy, 2006 • Ninni Esposito Arte Conteporanea, Bari, Italy, 2007
Personal life and death
Personal life and death
Obering died in New York City on July 29, 2022, at the age of 85.
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Shreveport.
Birth place
New York City.
Death place
Style and technique
Obering began in sculpture, but soon moved into painting. Her first paintings were Color Field paintings, inspired by Mark Rothko. Obering continued to work in abstraction, while incorporating techniques, such as gilded wood panels, that are reminiscent of early Italian art. Critics have also described her work as looking like "an exotic form of sculpture."
Collections and holdings
Where the work is held
Collections and holdings
Institutional holdings are recorded as follows.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q22002909: Mary Obering
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Mary Obering”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q22002909: Mary OberingWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Prints
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- Master M ZEngraver
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