A contemporary artist from New York who grew up in the Abstract Expressionist era and remains active today.
Regina Bogat was born in Brooklyn, New York. She is the widow of the painter Alfred Jensen and has two children, Anna and Peter. She lives and paints in New Jersey.
Here you may learn more about Regina Bogat's life, read articles, watch videos, and see current and historical exhibition lists.
Artwork painted from 2013 to 2014.
Artwork painted from 2013 to 2014.
Artwork painted from 2005 to 2006.
read introduction open slideshow
“Star light, star bright”, “Twinkle twinkle little star”, “The Stars and Stripes Forever”, seems like wherever you look or listen we’re surrounded with a galaxy of star images, from childhood songs, to poetry, our national flag, even movie ratings. What’s the universal appeal of these celestial objects and, perhaps more pertinently can a contemporary artist squeeze something new out of these ancient symbols?
It’s always a treat to visit the studio of a serious painter, to see the place where the “dirty work” gets done. If it’s not an imposition, I enjoy sniffing around, trying to recreate the art making, like one of those hard-boiled forensic detectives on TV. It’s an added bonus if the artist is an articulate practitioner and an historical presence that places the work in a context vital to recent developments. On an early spring day, I dropped in specifically to view Regina Bogat’s recent series of star paintings. Having included a couple of her seven-pointed star pieces in a show I curated a couple of years ago, I was curious to see the latest trajectory the motif had taken with the evolution of ten-pointed stars. I wasn’t disappointed.
Ignoring chronology, Bogat is a young painter, although she’s been at it for longer than most of today’s hotshots have been alive. The joy, surprise, and energy she brings to the studio work is typical of a twenty-some-thing’s. In her top floor studio, which would probably make a fine astronomical observatory, we chatted about some of the origins of the star imagery, its mystical implications, and use in ceremonies and magic. We laughed about the various mathematical and geometric formulas recommended by sophisticated “experts” for drafting the perfect ten-pointed star. Ultimately the simplest solution (just take two pentagrams and overlay them), as usual, turned out to be the best. Despite the use of math, rulers, protractors and compass, the calculations and architectural formality of the form is just a skeleton, a compositional anchor which allows Bogat to indulge her sensuous side, using a spectrum of spontaneous staining, blotting and freewheeling paint application to expose her strengths as a colorist and gestural abstractionist.
With this new series Bogat has selected a more modest size, about two and a half by three feet, and like many of today’s leading abstract painters (Bill Jensen, Thomas Nozkowski and James Sienna all come to mind), she’s rejected the New York School dictum equating large scale with profundity of intent. This reduced size engenders a greater intimacy, an invitation to come close and enjoy the painterly incidents at arm’s length, to appreciate the delicacy of her bleeding, scumbeling and transparency up close. The luxurious color schemes recall the moist tints of Matisse or the dry scrims of Rothko and their keyed up urgency and unexpected contrasts may look discordant for a time until you become acclimatized to their jazzed up tones.
In some of the pictures Bogat has multiplied the stars, doubled, quadrupled and placed them within the rectangle to form grids. Once we pause to look at these layouts, we experience a visual flip between the figure and ground that activates the whole surface, creating a taught contiguous visual membrane. In other pieces what appears as a single central form under closer scrutiny reveals the ghosts of smaller stars.
Later, while thinking about the paintings, I couldn’t help remembering “The Star-Splitter”, a Robert Frost poem about Brad McLaughlin a New Hampshire farmer
“…Till having failed at hugger-mugger farming,
He burned his house down for the fire insurance
And spent the proceeds on a telescope
To satisfy a life-long curiosity
About our place among the infinite…”
Now, I don’t think Bogat is motivated to go to those extremes. She doesn’t need a bigger telescope, for her the galaxy she’s found is inside. The magnitude of her stars is measured with a delicious resonance of harmonious and distinctive hues, and the speed of light is slowed down to a period of reverie allowing the observer to “star-split” in their own good time because, as Frost has Brad McLaughlin say, "The best thing that we're put here for's to see;”
Artwork painted from 2005 to 2006.
Artwork painted from 2001 to 2003.
Artwork painted from 2001 to 2003.
Hyperallergic review of the show Regina Bogat: Works 1967-1977 at Zürcher by Tim Keane.
Review of the show Regina Bogat: Works 1967-1977 at Zürcher by Faye Hirsch.
Hyperallergic review of the show Regina Bogat: Stars at Art101 by Jillian Steinhauer.
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin
Continental Insurance Company, Piscataway, New Jersey, mural installation
Public Service Electric and Gas, Newark, New Jersey
Sonnescheim, et al., Sears Tower, Chicago, IL
Henry Luce III, Fishers Island, New York
Edward R. Downe, Jr., New York
Murray Taubman, Rancho Mirage, CA
Mrs. Howard Wise, New York
Bill Easton, New York
Harvey and Francoise Rambach, Locust, New Jersey
Douglas and Carol Cohen, Highland Park, IL
Leila Hadley, New York
Laura Skolar, New York
Dr. Howard Osofsky, New Orleans, LA
Judy Harney, New York
Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, New York
Peter L. Lewis, Cleveland, Ohio
George and Susan Turner, Southampton, New York
Eileen Sweeny and Jay Beckner, Montclair, New Jersey
ArtRX NYC, essay in Hyperallergic by Jillian Steinhauer, 2015
9 Things to Do in New York’s Art World Before October 9, essay in the Observer by Paul Laster, 2015
Regina Bogat: Works from the 70s and 80s, interview by Veronica Roberts, Zürcher Gallery, 2015
Frieze Art Fair at Randalls Island Park Offers a Bit of Everything, The New York Times by Martha Schwendener, 2015
Frieze New York: An environment for discovery, Paul Laster in Christie’s The Art People, 2015
Regina Bogat, essay in Art in America by Faye Hirsch, 2014
Single Point Perspective: Regina Bogat Earthly Divination, essay in Hyperallergic by Tim Keane, 2014
If You’re Accidentally Not Included, Don’t Worry About it, essay in The New York Times by Karen Rosenberg, 2014
Stargazing in Brooklyn: New Art at Trestle Gallery, Essay by Tim Keane, 2014
Regina Bogat: The New York Years 1960 – 1970, essays by Stephen Westfall and Bernard Zürcher, Zürcher Gallery, 2013
Regina Bogat, essay in Wall Street International, 2013
Art , Life, Commercialism and Sexism in the New York School: Regina Bogat's Story, interview in Hyperallergic by Jillian Steinhauer, 2012
Regina Bogat Keeps It Fresh After 60 Years, essay on the exhibition at Art 101 in Hyperallergic by Howard Hurst, 2012
The Prism and Alfred Jensen, lecture, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Trinity Colllege, Dublin,Ireland, 2010
Alfred Jensen, A Memorial, Regina Bogat, Editor, Privately published, 1981
Interview with Alfred Jensen, unpublished, 1978
Lecturer, Whitney Museum of American Art, 1961-63
"Fifty California Artists," essay on the exhibition at the Whitney Museum, Artforum, Los Angeles, CA, Winter 1963
"E Pluribus Unum," Catalog essay for the exhibition at the Graham Gallery, New York City, 1962
"Art: Education or Entertainment?" Lecture, Colby Jr. College, NH, 1962
"An Approach to Art," Lecture, Riverside Hospital for Narcotics Addiction, 1962
"Corruption in the Arts," Panel discussion with Ad Reinhardt, Carl Holty and Regina Bogat" (moderator), Camino Gallery, New York City, 1961
"Is Representation the Avant Garde Today?" Panel discussion, Camino Gallery, New York City, 1961
Reviews of current exhibitions, East, a publication, New York City, 1958-59
Lecturer and studio art teacher, Brooklyn College Adult Education, 1953-1960
Regina Bogat is well-known for her photographic portraits of artists including Alfred Jensen, Mark Rothko, and Ad Reinhardt.
Please contact us for photographic permissions.
Mark Rothko, Into an Unknown World, Daria Zhukova Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
Photographs of Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, A Biography by James Breslin, U. of Chicago Press, 1993.
Photographs of Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, A Retrospective, Guggenheim Museum, 1980.
Photographs of the artist
Ad Reinhardt, Guggenheim Museum exhibition, 1980.
Photographs of the artist and studio
Alfred Jensen, Pace Gallery exhibitions, 1982-1991.
Photographs of the artist and studio
Alfred Jensen, The New Jersey Years 1972-1981, Newark Museum, Newark NJ, 1994
Alfred Jensen, Concordance, DIA Center for the Arts, New York City, 2001-2002
Regina, The Marfa Film Festival 2014, Documentary by Frances Barth, 2013
Regina Bogat The New York Years 1960 – 1970, Youtube, 2013
Regina Bogat “Stars” at ART 101, James Kalm's Rough Cuts, Youtube Interview, 2012
AM New York, WABC-TV, Interview, 1975
Exhibition, 15 Contemporary American Painters, CBS-TV hour-long documentary film, 1973
Calendar, CBS-TV, Discussion of contemporary art with Lawrence Alloway, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein and Regina Bogat, 1963
Interview, Radio. Irving Sandler interviews Regina Bogat, 1962
Rutgers University, BA
Brooklyn College
Art Students League
Brooklyn Museum Art School
Pommery Stand Prize, 2nd Place at Frieze Art Fair, 2015
Board of Advisors, The Brooklyn Rail, a cultural journal, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Awards in the Visual Arts (AVA), 1981, Nominee
The Phoenix and the Mountain (1980) and Other Paintings (2013-2015) Zurcher Gallery, Paris, France, October 26-December 23, 2016
Confluence/Influence: Confluences of thinking from Mengei to Modernism and Beyond, Dorsky Curatorial Programs, Long Island City, New York, September 18–December 10, 2016
Regina Bogat will participate in a panel discussion on November 6, 2016 entitled “The enduring appeal of making.”
Women and Abstraction, group show curated by Dr. Barbara Stehle. Zurcher Gallery, New York, November 16-December 22, 2016
Entangled, curated by Karen Wright. Turner Contemporary, Margate, England, January 2017-May 2017
Delirious--Art at the Limits of Reason, curated by Kelly Baum. Met Breuer, New York, NY, September 12, 2017
Face to face: Regina Bogat and Wang Keping, Zürcher Gallery, NY, 2016
Regina Bogat: Works from the 70s and 80s, Zürcher Gallery, NY, 2015
Regina Bogat: Solo Show with Zürcher Gallery at Frieze Art Fair, NY, 2015
The Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs, July-December 2014
Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, April-May 2014
Zürcher Gallery, Paris, France, March - April 2014
ArtParis, Grand Palais, Paris, France, March 2014
Zürcher Studio, NY, February 27 - March 30, 2014
Regina Bogat: The New York Years, 1960-1970, Zürcher Studio, NY 2013
Regina Bogat: Stars, Art101, Brooklyn, NY 2012
Vertical: New Paintings by Regina Bogat and Fausto Sevila, Simon Liu Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, 2006
Painter's Painters, Andre Zarre Gallery, New York, NY, 2006
Little Women, Dam.Stuhltrager Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, 2006
Gallery 51, Montclair, NJ, 2005
The Incredible Lightness of Being, Black & White Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 2003
Regina Bogat has exhibited extensively in the US and abroad.
one-person exhibitions group exhibitions
Regina Bogat: Works from the 70s and 80s, Zürcher Gallery, NY, 2015
Regina Bogat: Solo Show with Zürcher Gallery at Frieze Art Fair, NY, 2015
Zürcher Gallery, Paris, France, March - April 2014
Regina Bogat: The New York Years, 1960-1970, Zürcher Studio, NY 2013
Regina Bogat: Stars, Art101, Brooklyn, NY 2012
Vertical: New Paintings by Regina Bogat and Fausto Sevila, Simon Liu Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, 2006
Regina Bogat, Selected Works, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ, 1994
Memorial Boxes, Soho 20 Gallery Invitational Space, New York City, 1984
Regina Bogat, Paintings and Box Constructions, Sid Deutsch Gallery, New York City, 1983
Regina Bogat, Women Artists Series at Douglass College, Mabel Smith Douglass Library, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, 1982
The Phoenix and the Mountain, Wenger Gallery, La Jolla, CA, 1980-81
Regina Bogat, Ferrell Galleries, El Paso, TX, 1962
New Paintings, Terrain Gallery, New York City, 1956-60
Regina Bogat, The County Art Center, Spring Valley, NY, 1956
Regina Bogat, Wang Keping, Zürcher Gallery, NY, 2016
blue in your body, red when it hits air, MOCA, San Diego, CA, 2015
Regina Bogat and Brian Belott with Zürcher Gallery at Untitled Art Fair, Miami, FL, 2014
I Was a Double, The Francis Young Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY, July-December 2014
If You’re Accidentally Not Included, Don’t Worry About It, curated by Peter Saul, Zürcher Gallery, NY 2014
Star Gazing, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, April-May 2014
ArtParis, Grand Palais, Paris, France, March 2014
Zürcher Studio, NY, February 27 - March 30, 2014
Painter's Painters, Andre Zarre Gallery, New York, NY, 2006
Little Women, Dam.Stuhltrager Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, 2006
Gallery 51, Montclair, NJ, 2005
The Incredible Lightness of Being, Black & White Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 2003
In Honor of Greatness: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Essex County College and Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art, Newark N.J., 1986
Six Couples, Summit Art Center, Summit, NJ, 1978
Interface, Ramapo College, Montvale, NJ, 1975
Women—Self Image, Women's Interart Center, New York City, 1974
Women Choose Women, Women in the Arts, New York Cultural Center, New York City, 1973
Artists in Their Studios, Finch College Museum, New York City, 1971
American Works on Paper, Baden-Baden Museum, Baden-Baden, Germany, 1970
Blocked Metaphors, Cordier Ekstrom Gallery, New York City, 1969
Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Max Welti, Kunstmuseum, Zurich, Switzerland
International Artists Summer Seminar Exhibition, Riverside Museum, New York City and Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ, 1963
Abstraction: A Selection, Visual Arts Gallery, New York City, 1962
Balin-Traube Gallery, New York City, 1962
42nd Annual Exhibition of the Society of American Graphic Artists, Riverside Museum, New York City, 1959
Photographs of The Bowery, Cooper Union Museum, New York City, 1959
Audubon Artists Annual, New York City, 1958
Nonagon Gallery, New York City, 1958
Howard University Print Exhibition, Howard University, 1958
Albany Print Show, Albany New York, 1958
Three Persons, Three Elements, Terrain Gallery, New York City, 1958
ART:USA 58, Madison Square Garden, New York City, 1958, 1959
The Opposites in Contemporary Art, Terrain Gallery, New York City, 1957
New York City Center Gallery, New York City, 1957
Depth and Surface, Terrain Gallery, New York City, 1956
Six Artists, Terrain Gallery, New York City, 1956
Regina Bogat is represented by
Zürcher Gallery
33 Bleecker Street,
New York, NY 10012
Tel: (+1) 212 777 0790
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