Two Coats of Paint
Katharina Grosse on Canvas
Two Coats of Paint
Sharon Butler reviews works by Katharina Grosse at Gagosian Gallery, New York, on view through March 11, 2017. Butler writes: “The strength of Grosse’s past work rested in the clever, audacious way she combined paint and physical structure. These new paintings on canvas, though ambitious and slick in terms of energy and scale, lack the […]
Ken Weathersby: From Sculpture to Painting
Two Coats of Paint
Sharon Butler reviews Ken Weathersby; Time After Time at Minus Space, Brooklyn, on view through February 25, 2017. Butler writes: “Weathersby seems to be reminding the viewer that abstract paintings may seem formalist, or, to some viewers, simply decorative, but they are in fact part of a larger timeline rooted in history, politics, and philosophy. […]
Kate Liebman: Interview
Two Coats of Paint
Debbi Kenote interviews painter Kate Liebman. Liebman remarks: “Every decision I make I want there to be a formal reason and another level of meaning, so it works on multiple layers… When I see the paintings, I can’t help but see them in reference to the original image, but the viewer doesn’t necessarily have that. […]
John Zinsser: Studio visit
Two Coats of Paint
Sharon Butler visits the studio of painter John Zinsser. Zinsser’s work is currently on view in The Humanism of Abstraction at the Dedalus Foundation. The show, which also includes work by David Reed and Carrie Moyer, is on view through November 17, 2016. Butler observes: “Playfulness and improvisation, then, are parts of [Zinsser’s] process but […]
Agnes Martin: A Resolutely Solitary Endeavor
Two Coats of Paint
Sharon Butler blogs about the Agnes Martin retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, on view through January 11, 2017. Butler writes: “Martin’s austere paintings, with neutral palette and delicate line, are beautifully installed in the Guggenheim’s warm white ramp. Unlike other artists, Martin didn’t find her voice until she was well past forty and […]
Suzanne Joelson: Interview
Two Coats of Paint
Michele Araujo interviews Suzanne Joelson on the occasion of Joelson’s exhibition Slipping Systems at Studio 10, Bushwick, Brooklyn, on view through November 13, 2016. Joelson comments: “I plot things out and let unanticipated relationships happen. The plot becomes a launching pad for a more open activity… The source and implications of my materials are engaging, but […]
Joan Semmel: A Woman’s Body
Two Coats of Paint
Sharon Butler blogs about Joan Semmel: New Work at Alexander Gray Associates, New York, on view through October 15, 2016. Butler writes: “Semmel’s lively, lyrical new paintings … depict fragmented sections of the aging female body, often from angles that can only be seen by women themselves. The gloriously large-scale nudes, all self portraits and […]
Nicole Wittenberg: Interview
Two Coats of Paint
Kate Liebman interviews Nicole Wittenberg on the occasion of Wittenberg’s show The Yellow Kiss at yours mine & ours, New York through October 16, 2016. Wittenberg comments: “I spend a lot of time looking at photographs and things online, facebook, instagram, and also out in the world taking pictures and make observational drawings. I do […]
New Geometries: Embracing Narrative & Content
Two Coats of Paint
Sharon Butler posts excerpts from Alex Baker’s catalogue essay for New Geometries at Fleischer/Ollman gallery in Philadelphia on view through November 12, 2016. The show features works by Martha Clippinger, Gianna Commito, Diena Georgetti, Jeffrey Gibson, Eamon Ore-Giron, and Clare Rojas. Butler notes that “Baker sums up the history of abstract painting and then suggests […]
Sue Post: Intuitively Chosen Constraints
Two Coats of Paint
An essay by Franklin Einspruch about the paintings of Sue Post on the occasion of her exhibition Weed/Garden at The Painting Center, New York, on view through October 1, 2016. Einspruch writes: “Post began her graduate work on the landscape, finished a devout non-representational painter, and for five years worked within an abstract format consisting […]