Sidney Felsen, the co-founder of the renowned printmaking workshop Gemini G.E.L., passed away at 99 on June 9 due to renal failure at his Los Angeles home. His family announced the news, describing Felsen’s distinctive approach to life with a quote from artist Richard Serra: “Sidney prefers to hurry slowly,” perfectly encapsulating his personality.
1966, Sidney Felsen and fraternity brothers Stanley Grinstein and Kenneth Tyler established Gemini G.E.L. (Graphic Editions Limited). The workshop quickly became a pivotal institution in art, known for its collaborations with esteemed artists such as John Baldessari, Philip Guston, and Man Ray. Gemini G.E.L.’s innovative prints and the close-knit relationships it fostered between printmakers and artists played a crucial role in elevating printmaking to the same artistic stature as painting and sculpture in the United States.
One of the workshop’s first notable collaborations was with Josef Albers, the first artist invited to create a print at Gemini. Felsen was known for his unique method of inviting artists—sending postcards as cold invitations to collaborate. This approach soon attracted renowned artists like Robert Rauschenberg, who became one of the most prolific contributors to Gemini. Rauschenberg’s 1967 lithograph Booster and Claes Oldenburg’s 1968 Profile Airflow were significant early works that showcased the workshop’s capabilities. These works were later featured in a 1991 Museum of Modern Art exhibition dedicated to Gemini G.E.L.
A 2010 Artforum review highlighted Gemini’s impact on artists like Rauschenberg, noting the workshop provided an environment with “free rein and seemingly unlimited resources.” This freedom helped Gemini become a central hub for Los Angeles’s burgeoning art community. It was known for its lively, all-night sessions and became a popular gathering place for East Coast artists. In a 1999 article for the Los Angeles Times, Claudine Ise described Gemini as “an arterial channel between the Los Angeles and New York art worlds.”
Born in Chicago in 1924, Felsen moved to Los Angeles as a teenager. Known for his dapper style, often seen in a seersucker suit and straw Panama hat, he initially worked as an accountant while taking evening classes in painting and ceramics at the Chouinard Art Institute (now CalArts). He was also a passionate amateur photographer and frequently captured images of famous artists at work. In 2003, he published a collection of these photographs in the book The Artist Observed.
In 2016, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art celebrated the 50th anniversary of Gemini G.E.L. with a comprehensive exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The exhibition, titled “The Serial Impulse at Gemini G.E.L.,” featured significant works from 1966 to 2014, including pieces by Johns, Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella and more recent works by Serra and Julie Mehretu. An exhibition devoted to Gemini G.E.L.’s history is on view at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
Despite the growing recognition of Gemini G.E.L., Sidney Felsen remained humble and dedicated to the workshop until his death. In a 2016 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Felsen reflected on the early days of Gemini, saying, “It was innocence. We thought it would be a hobby that would be fun to hang around the artists, maybe build up a collection.”
Sidney Felsen’s legacy lives on through the groundbreaking works produced at Gemini G.E.L. and his lasting impact on the art world, forever changing the perception and appreciation of printmaking as a significant art form.