Guarneri

Gerald Gooch

Gerald Gooch often used sequential elements, a kind of motion picture, to create narrative for the viewer. The composition can be read from top to bottom or vice versa. In this piece, "Guarneri" likely refers to the Italian luthier Giuseppe Guarneri's instrument of note, the violin, as the subject holds his hands in a playing position in the bottom two frames. Violinist Isaac Stern ( 1920-2001) who played a Guarneri, was probably the subject of this etching.

Gerald Gooch eventually abandoned two dimensional art, exploring multimedia work including video, sculpture, woodwork, and more. In 1974 he went on a trip to Baja California, Mexico funded by the San Francisco Museum of Art, traveling with artists Robert Fried, Bill Martin, Richard Lowenburg, Robert Moon, and Gage Taylor. It resulted in "Baja", an exhibition of 80 multimedia works interpreting the desert landscape, with works made on location and at their studios. He taught at the San Francisco Art Institute for many years.

In the late 1970s, Gooch abruptly interrupted a class he was teaching by leaving the room, saying he would be right back. He did not return. Later, it was discovered that he'd moved to a commune in the Pacific Northwest, retiring from art entirely.