Reviews
Mantegna to Matisse @ the Frick
Art Unwashed
Laura Gilbert reviews the exhibition Mantegna to Matisse: Master Drawings from the Courtauld Gallery at the Frick Collection, New York, on view through Janaury 23, 2012. “As might be expected in a show that covers art from the late Middle Ages to the early 20th century, the styles and purposes of the drawings are all […]
Jan Müller’s Abstract Tale
An exhibition that showcases a number of Jan Müller’s mature, large-scale paintings is a welcome, if short lived, opportunity to see his monumental Abstract Expressionist allegories.
The Drawings of Clyfford Still
A selection of Clyfford Still’s 1,500 drawings reflect a practice of lifelong visual inquiry and show drawing to be an important, perhaps crucial, tool in Still’s dramatic evolution from regional artist to icon of the New York School.
Dazzling Darkness
In his Theory of Colors, Goethe observes that “the greatest brightness short of dazzling acts near the greatest darkness.”
David von Schlegell: Paintings
In David von Schlegell’s final paintings, material is subjected to both a physical and philosophical alchemy that returns the sculptor to his romantic, painterly roots.
Siri Berg: All About Color
Conceptual restriction, in Siri Berg’s hands, adds up to exuberant expression and has a painterly feel.
Ray Parker’s Meta-World
Loosely brushed but clearly defined forms on off-white grounds that give the curious impression they are observations painted from life even though they are abstract expressionist works through and through.
Perle Fine: The Cool Series
A student of Hans Hofmann, Perle Fine’s artistic circle included the most accomplished New York School and European painters.
Ted Stamm: Paintings at Minus Space
A small, but significant show of paintings and drawings at Minus Space offers a tantalizing re-introduction to Ted Stamm’s paintings.
Filming Bruegel
The Artblog
Andrea Kirsh reviews Lech Majewski’s The Mill and the Cross, a new biogrphical film about the artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Kirsh writes that “Majewski captures Bruegel’s truth that great events occur amidst the shapeless narrative of everyday life. Just as remarkable is the effect he creates of taking us into the actual space of […]
Flowers for Summer @ Michael Werner Gallery
16 Miles of String
Andrew Russeth reviews the exhibition Flowers for Summer at Michael Werner Gallery on view through September 10, 2011. The show features paintings by Picasso, Kurt Schwitters, Sigmar Polke, Peter Doig, Eugène Leroy and others. Russeth writes that the "… simple title and self-explanatory premise [belie] the high quality of work on view. That Schwitters, for […]
Alchemy & Inquiry: Taaffe, Tomaselli, Winters
16 Miles of String
Andrew Russeth visits the exhibition Alchemy and Inquiry: paintings by Philip Taaffe, Fred Tomaselli, and Terry Winters at Wave Hill Estate in the Bronx. Russeth writes: “With each artist featured in a separate room, it’s easy to see their three distinct visions clearly. My favorite in the tripartite melee is Taaffe, whose paintings are populated […]
David Malek at Rawson Projects
16 Miles of String
Andrew Russeth examines the positive qualities of influence in the work of painter David Malek. In Malek’s exhibition Hexagons at Rawson Projects his work seems to engage in unapologetic dialogues with several system based painters including (early) Frank Stella and Sol Lewitt. However, Russeth remarks, “What once looked logical, rational, and predetermined… begins to look […]
Headlong
Venetian Red
Liz Hager reviews the novel Headlong by Michael Frayn, a “thoroughly engaging tale of the easily distracted and ethically challenged philosopher, who convinces himself that he has discovered a ‘lost’ Bruegel.”
Robert Walser’s Microscripts
Robert Walser’s “Microscripts” are some of the most visually interesting pieces of 20th century writing.