Carl Faber Oil on Canvas — Large Abstract, Mid-Century Modern

A vibrant large-scale abstract oil painting on stretched canvas by Carl Faber, a painter associated with Silver City and the Gila wilderness region of New Mexico. Working in the tradition of mid-twentieth century geometric abstraction, Faber composed this non-objective work as a purely invented arrangement of geometric and semi-organic forms — circles, ellipses, triangles, sweeping arcs, and gestural calligraphic passages — radiating outward from a busy central zone in a dense, centrifugal composition with no single dominant focal point.

The palette is assertive and varied: cadmium yellow, cobalt blue, vermillion orange, forest green, warm brown, and cool grey interact across the surface, unified by confident white outlining that simultaneously separates and connects each form. A compelling tension develops between the tightly controlled geometric zones and two passages of dense, intricate calligraphic mark-making in the lower left and lower center quadrants — a contrast that demonstrates Faber's considerable technical range and reflects his early training in sign painting and lettering. The artist's name appears in a painted cartouche at the lower left, integrated into the composition itself rather than applied as a separate label. The canvas is unframed and ready for custom framing. This is a bold, room-commanding work whose visual energy rewards sustained attention.

CONDITION

Good condition with no remarkable damage. The painted surface is intact, colors remain vivid, and the canvas is taut on its stretcher. Minor scuffing and slight paint wear are visible along the right canvas wrap edge, as seen in image 4. Light surface abrasion is present at the lower edge near the stretcher bar, shown in image 5. No tears, punctures, or inpainting detected on the face of the canvas.

DIMENSIONS

26" × 20" × ¾"

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY — Carl Faber (Delaware — East Mojave — Gila, New Mexico)

Carl Faber was an American painter who spent the better part of his working life in the desert Southwest, developing a distinctive body of work rooted in sustained, first-hand observation of the natural world. He studied commercial art at a vocational school in Delaware, and worked professionally in sign painting, metalwork, business displays, and silkscreening in Florida and California before redirecting his energies entirely toward easel painting.

In 1972, Faber moved to the East Mojave desert to focus on landscape painting, studying the desert terrain that would become his hallmark subject for more than three decades. His artwork and austere desert lifestyle attracted attention from both local and national press during the 1980s, and organizations such as the Sierra Club and Friends of the Mojave Road brought a steady stream of visitors and buyers to his remote studio. It was in the East Mojave that Faber developed his philosophy of field painting — a rigorous commitment to painting directly from nature rather than from photographic reference, a practice he defended on both technical and philosophical grounds.

Faber's experiences with LSD in the 1960s shaped his perception of the natural world in ways he believed gave him an unusually acute sensitivity to color, light, and structural relationships in nature. This perceptual intensity carried through into his studio work as well — evident in the compressed chromatic energy and restless formal invention of canvases such as the present work. His training as a sign painter gave him a command of calligraphy and the importance of accurate, deft brushstrokes, producing a freshness and clarity achieved through single, confident marks rather than reworked passages.

Faber illustrated his partner Adrienne Knute's botanical study Plants of the East Mojave, published in 1991 and reprinted in 2002, demonstrating both his draftsmanship and his deep engagement with the Mojave ecosystem. He and Adrienne first came to Gila Hot Springs, New Mexico, in 2004 — originally seeking a winter home — but fell in love with the place and made it their permanent residence. It is from this final chapter of his life, based in the Gila wilderness near Silver City, that the present work originates.

Faber was known as a committed teacher who accepted students on a non-commercial basis, preferring to pass on his technical knowledge and philosophical outlook to those he judged capable of genuine dedication. He described his approach as one that "would have nothing to do with money." A notice from the ACE Studio Art Gallery in Silver City confirmed his passing, the date of which has not yet been independently verified in published sources. His work remains held in private collections across the Southwest and beyond.