Lucy Li reviews the exhibition Robert Bechtle at Gladstone Gallery, New York.

Li writes: "Bechtle’s nonfiction of the most overlooked moments in life can send viewers to the verge of panic about becoming enthralled by the beauty of sheer banal insignificance. Bechtle’s current exhibition at Gladstone Gallery provides a much-needed respite in a world serving up artworks constantly growing bigger, louder, and more ingratiating. The artist himself sheepishly peers out from one of the few oil paintings in the show, Bob’s Sebring (2011), next to a silver convertible a bit too snazzy for his outfit, in front of a square garage…The paintings are furnished from a Kodachrome, sun-bleached palette, and a seemingly interminable supply of time… The supposed subject matter lingers at the edge of the well-measured composition, perfectly skewed to avoid approaching the edge of motion… The photographic qualities of this work are apparent, but the shutter’s ability to capturing fleeting moments is irrelevant as time itself seems to be immobile anyway."