Ezra Tessler reflects on Blinky Palermo's Grey Disk (1970). Tessler writes: "Once Grey Disk made its way into my mind I had a hard time not seeing it everywhere. Turn Grey Disk on its side and walk through the Met: there it is in the rounded-faces of the lifelike Roman funerary portraits painted in encaustic
Charlotte Higgins visits with painter Leon Kossoff on the occasion of the exhibiton Leon Kossoff: London Landscapes at Annely Juda Fine Art, London, on view from May 8 - July 6, 2013. The show will be on view at Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York from November 5 - December 21, 2013. Higgins writes: "It seems
Rachelle Reichert interviews painter Amir Fallah on the occasion of Fallah's recent exhibtion The Collected at Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco. Reichert introduces the conversation: "Inspired by Renaissance portraiture and vanitas paintings, Fallah’s paintings are engaging and intelligent. Working with themes of power and economics in the history of commissioned portraiture, Fallah constructs unique portraits
Larry Groff interviews painter Frank Hobbs about his work and career. Asked about the excitement of plein air painting, Hobbs remarks: "On site, the first things that I respond to are space and light. I really am an abstract painter, I think; or a frustrated musician. Rhythm is more important to me than the particular
In a new video, painter Anne Harris discusses her approach to painting and the works in her current exhibition Phantasmatical: Self Portraits at Alexandre Gallery, New York, on view through May 11, 2013. Harris remarks: "These paintings, these particular paintings, came out of both something that was happening in the drawing that I worked on,
Jason Andrew reviews the exhibition Fritz Bultman: The Missing Irascible at Edelman Arts, New York, on view through May 11, 2013. Andrew writes that "For Bultman, who unfortunately missed his photo-op as one of 'The Irascibles' (the group of Abstract Expressionist painters made famous by a 1951 photograph in Life magazine), the paradox in painting
Aubrey Levinthal conducts a short interview with painter Eleanor Ray. Ray's work is currently on view in the exhibition dooroomwindow at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects, New York, through May 26, 2013. The exhibition features the work of Jane Dickson, Bill Rice, Kurt Knobelsdorf, Gideon Bok, Eleanor Ray and Stephanie Pierce. Ray comments: "Painting a
Xico Greenwald reviews the exhibition Jane Freilicher: Painter Among Poets at Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, on view through June 14, 2013. Greenwald writes: "The offhanded, intimate approach adopted by Freilicher and some of her fellow painters belies the critically important contributions these artists made to the canon of twentieth century art. One of
During a visit to Ansel Adams: Photography from the Mountains to the Sea at the National Maritime Museum, London (through April 28), Robin Greenwood finds works by Ansel Adams that present the "moment of most heightened visual intensity," also sought and prized in great painting. Greenwood writes: "I need to look at something that is
Thomas Micchelli reviews the exhibition Albrecht Dürer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints from the Albertina at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., on view through June 9, 2013. Micchelli writes: "Dürer’s boldness with his materials is evidenced in what is probably the most emblematic image to come from the Great Observer, namely 'The Great
Sharon Butler blogs about Judy Glantzman's new work, on view at Betty Cuningham Gallery, New York, through May 11, 2013. Butler writes that: "After seeing Pablo Picasso's Guernica for the first time three years ago, Judy Glantzman began moving away from the introspective self-portraits she had been making for many years toward a less self-engaged
Leah Oates interviews artist William Crump about his work and process. Crump comments: "The first thing I do when approaching these paintings, is to try and leave all distraction outside of the studio. It’s about keeping my focus and discipline. There are times when I want to dive in head first, but that can lead
James Kalm video blogs a visit to the recent exhibition Ben La Rocco: Fugue State at Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn. Kalm writes that "La Rocco directs his painterly investigation into a realm of physics and astronomy as graphic representations. Transcribing concepts like the relationship between the scale of humanity and planetary bodies like the sun,
Julian Kreimer interviews painter Elena Sisto on the occasion of the exhibtion Between Silver Light and Orange Shadow: Paintings by Elena Sisto at Lori Bookstein Fine Art, New York, on view through May 25, 2013. Asked about the "line between abstraction and figuration," Sisto comments: "To say a painting is abstract doesn't necessarily mean it
Elizabeth Johnson reviews the exhibition Brian Cypher: Survey, works on paper at Schema Projects, Bushwick, Brooklyn, on view through April 28, 2013. Johnson writes: "Working like André Masson and other Surrealists à la Automatic Drawing, Cypher is content in that sweet spot of action without a plan; humorously, he parses fragments of the analytical, plan-based
Patrick Neal reports on the recent panel discussion Painting Matters Now: A Conversation moderated by Nancy Grimes, held at the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. Panelists included Greg Drasler, Laurie Fendrich, John Dubrow, Mario Naves, and Peter Plagens. Neal writes that Grimes "explained this panel had come out of 'conversations I had with colleagues about the state
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Jonathan Chapline and Lorraine Nam visit Trudy Benson's studio on the occasion of her solo exhibition Paint at Horton Gallery, New York, on view from April 25 - June 2 , 2013. Benson discusses her process: "For the most part for these paintings, I feel like they are a collage of different painting moves and
Pepe Karmel argues that we are now in the midst of a golden age of abstraction and suggests that linear analysis is no longer an effective method of evaluating abstract art. Instead, Karmel suggests the adoption of a super-set of "thematic" categories: "Three respond to nature: cosmologies, landscapes, and anatomies. And three respond to culture:
Rusty Wallace interviews painter Andy Cherewick. Cherewick discusses his work and the daily practice of painting. He remarks: "The reality is you have to get accustomed to the fear of going into the unknown. You go into the unknown on purpose. If you’re sincere about wanting to do something vital and meaningful, you have to
Robert Boyd reviews the exhibition Forrest Bess: Seeing Things Invisible at the Menil Collection, Houston, TX, on view through August 18, 2013. Boyd writes: " ...whether we understand the symbols or not, they tell us one very important thing–Bess was no formalist. He isn’t trying to arrange colors and shapes in an interesting, aesthetically pleasing