Xico Greenwald reviews Eleanor Ray: Paintings at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects (through December 24) and Zach Harris: Must Chill at Feuer/Mesler (through December 19).
Greenwald writes that both Harris and Ray's works are products of "expeditions to view Renaissance masterworks in the churches and museums of Italy and France… Ray’s postcard-sized pictures are perfectly suited to the narrow walls of Steven Harvey Fine Arts … Based on her own travel photos of the architecture and frescos of Ravenna and Assisi, Rome and Florence, Ray’s artwork about artwork has unfussy yet precise brushwork." Greenwald notes that "Harris says [in his travels] he was struck by 'how images were embedded in architecture, how, with framing and woodcarving, they became independent objects for devotion, holding the attention and awe of the viewer.' Upon his return, he began embedding his own paintings, albeit contemporary designs with Day-Glo colors, in elaborate frames."