Altoon Sultan blogs about two recent New York exhibitions: Pat Steir at Cheim & Read and Harvey Quaytman at McKee Gallery.

Sultan writes: "Many of Steir's paintings appear to be diptychs, as she divides the canvas into two different colors/surfaces. They create a different kind of space, deep and light-filled against one denser and closer to the surface…. both artists have a love affair with the surfaces of their paintings, which go far beyond simply paint on canvas… [Quaytman's] surfaces have an almost romantic voluptuousness within tightly controlled edges. The materials he adds to his paint creates surfaces that shine, have irregular textures, seem to be stuff of the earth itself."