Katherine Bradford: Small Ships
William Eckhardt Kohler reviews the exhibition Katherine Bradford: Small Ships at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects, New York, on view through October 13, 2013. Kohler writes: "Bradford's willingness to move freely between painting genres and schools leads to a sense that she is essentially being profoundly herself and that she has forged these parts into her […]
Balthus: Cats and Girls
James Kalm films a video walkthrough of the exhibition Balthus: Cats and Girls – Paintings and Provocations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, on view through January 12, 2014. Kalm notes that: "Representing a confluence of restrained classic figuration and Surrealistic erotic narrative, Balthus looms as a painterly enigma over the second half […]
Ed Moses: Yesterday’s Tomorrow
David M. Roth reviews the exhibition Ed Moses: Yesterday's Tomorrow at Brian Gross Gallery, San Francisco, on view through October 26, 2013. Roth writes: "This show of ten mostly large-scale works finds Moses in top form, reinvigorating past motifs with fresh methods. The latest is a craquelure achieved by mixing acrylic paint with some unnamed […]
Hilary Doyle: Interview
Arthur Peña interviews painter Hilary Doyle whose work was recently on view in her solo show Window Facing Inward at Active Space, New York. Doyle comments: "I see art defined as bringing an idea to life… What is our experience of the 'real' world now that we spend in increasing amount of time on electronic […]
Considering Black in Painting
Eugene Thacker considers the perception of the 'color' black and the function of black in vision and painting. Thacker writes: "Certainly in paintings like [St. Jerome Writing, c.1606] Caravaggio makes extreme use of chiaroscuro, and he is not the first to do so. But there is a sense that Caravaggio took as much care painting […]
Joanne Greenbaum: Studio Visit
Lauren Smith visits the studio of painter Joanne Greenbaum. Asked about her approach to making work, Greenbaum answers: "I don't have a real philosophy but I am a worker. I work when I am not inspired. Inspiration is not a real word for serious artists, they don't get 'inspired,' they just work. Ideas come from […]
Abstract Painting in NYC: September
Paul Corio reviews numerous (primarily abstract) painting exhibitions currently on view in New York including: Gene Davis and Frederick Hammersley at Ameringer McHenry Yohe (through October 12), Chuck Webster: Blessing at Betty Cunningham (through October 12), Caetano de Almeida at Eleven Rivington (through October 13), Cynthia Daignault: Which is the Sun and Which is the Shadow? at LIsa Cooley […]
Charley Toorop @ the Stedelijk Museum
A blog post about the work of underknown painter Charley Toorop. Toorop’s painting Self-Portrait with Hat and Voile "is emblematic of her later 'realistic' style. Features that help to define a painting’s realistic appearance are usually accurately rendered shadows, light, textures and colors. We believe the sitter’s physicality and presence. We relate in a similar fashion […]
Marc Chagall: Painter of Sorrows
Cindi di Marzo reviews the exhibition Marc Chagall: Love, War and Exile at The Jewish Museum, New York, on view through February 2, 2014. Di Marzo writes that the show "focuses on Chagall’s activities during an increasingly difficult period for him, the 1930s to 1948. The 30 paintings and 24 works on paper gathered for […]
Jennifer Bartlett: History of the Universe
Jacob Feige reviews the exhibition Jennifer Bartlett: History of the Universe – Works 1970-2011 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, on view through October 13, 2013. Feige writes: "Nearly forty years after Jennifer Bartlett first gained attention in the 1970s, her painting practice encompasses a greater variety of approaches than perhaps any other well-known […]
Richard Diebenkorn in Berkeley
John Seed reviews the exhibition Richard Diebenkorn, The Berkeley Years 1953-1966 at the M.H. De Young Museum, San Francisco, on view through September 29, 2013. Seed writes: "The works Diebenkorn made during his years in Berkeley reflect his artistic dialogues with Edward Hopper, Northern Expressionism, the work of Bay Area colleagues and the French lineage […]
Phillip J. Mellen: In Process
In a recent installment in his ongoing "In Process" blog series, Paul Behnke posts a photo blog of the progress of two paintings by Phillip J. Mellen. Behnke's introduction begins: "Mellen combines additive and subtractive gestures to build up the surface and add depth to his work. Bold colors, solid forms, drips and spatters allude […]
Sarah Williams @ George Billis Gallery
Bianca Guillen reviews an exhibition of paintings Sarah Williams at George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, on view through October 12th, 2013. Guillen writes that "the manner in which Williams knowingly illustrates the differing luminesce of artificial light, affectively shrouds each work in mystery. These landscapes are haunting scenes finessed into states of individual and complex […]
Francesco Clemente: Tents
Photo blog of installation views from the exhibition Francesco Clemente: Tents at Blain|Southern, Berlin, on view though November 9, 2013. The press release notes that the show features "three large-scale canvas tents, with every aspect of the exteriors, interiors, walls and roofs painted in intricate detail… Produced in India, Clemente describes these tents as his […]
Porfirio DiDonna: The Shape of Knowing
Addison Parks blogs about the exhibition Porfirio DiDonna A Painter's Journey, curated by John Baker and Nina Nielsen, on view at the Danforth Museum, Framingham, MA through November 3, 2013. The exhibition is also accompanied by the release of a new book Porfirio DiDonna The Shape of Knowing by John Baker which is available from […]
Ten Painters from Berlin
Photo blog of installation views from the exhibition Geist und Form: Ten Painters from Berlin at Grunwald Gallery of Art, Indiana University, Bloomington, curated by Jurriaan Benschop, on view through October 11, 2013. As noted on the extensive exhibition website, "Geist und Form gives insight into the broad spectrum of painting that is practiced in […]
Barbara Takenaga @ DC Moore Gallery
John Yau reviews the exhibition Barbara Takenaga: New Paintings at DC Moore Gallery, New York, on view through October 5, 2013. Yau writes: "In 'White Grid on Silver,' the wavy grid is made of unevenly spaced, vertical and horizontal white lines, which are punctuated by white orbs at the intersections… The materiality of the surface […]
Thornton Willis: Interview
Julie Karabenick interviews painter Thornton Willis. Willis comments: "To me, painting is an existentialist act. It’s something we do that comes from the fact that we exist, that we have countless experiences that make up our lives. This is true for cave paintings or even for simple hand prints made in such a way that […]
Charline von Heyl @ Friedrich Petzel
Photo blog of installation views from the exhibition Charline von Heyl at Friedrich Petzel Gallery, New York, on view through October 5, 2013. The press release states that "Charline von Heyl’s paintings are not abstractions of objects or figures; rather, she is interested in creating abstract images that stand for themselves. They are new pictures, […]
David Webb: Interview
Neill Clements interviews painter David Webb about his work and studio practice. David Webb: Fragmentarium will be on view at Dalla Rosa Gallery, London from October 11 – November 9, 2013. Asked about what outside of art informs his work, Webb comments: "… my work for some time has taken as a point of departure […]