Conrad Marca-Relli (1913–2000, American) was a major figure in the New York School abstract art movement, to which his friends Elaine and Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline belonged. Although he created highly expressive and dynamic works characteristic of Abstract Expressionism, Marca-Relli remains an anomaly to the movement, set apart by his dual European and American residence and an adherence to the figure. He is best known for his monumental collage paintings that have been attributed to his life in Mexico and the affinity with his Italian life and heritage, including the noted Italian artists Giorgio Morandi, Giorgio de Chirico, and Lucio Fontana.
–Affinities and Outliers: Highlights from the University at Albany Fine Art Collections