Chloe Nelkin visits the exhibition Van Dyck in Sicily: Painting and the Plague, 1624 – 25 at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London on view through May 27, 2012. Nelkin writes that "Van Dyck arrived in Palermo in 1624 expecting to complete a commission," however, she continues, "In May 1624, a ship from Tunis arrived at
Jonathan Beer reviews the exhibition Greg Lindquist: You Are Nature at Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York, on view through March 10, 2012. Beer notes that Lindquist "deploys many conceptual devices within the paintings... Photographic formatting and cropping reminiscent of television screens frames heavily textured scenes of minimalistic ruins. Typical suburban scenery fills crusty airplane television
Video interview with Ellsworth Kelly. He discusses his approach to drawing and printmaking on the occasion of the exhibition Ellsworth Kelly: Prints and Paintings on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art through April 22, 2012. Kelly remarks: "When I draw I don't find my solution in doing it, like de Kooning or
Matthew Ballou looks at Richard Diebenkorn's Ocean Park paintings through the lens of "provisional painting." Ballou writes that "To get a clear view of Diebenkorn's connection with provisionality one must think about the sense of compositional balance exemplified in the Ocean Park Series. It is a balance that is hard-won yet still teetering on the
Cara Manes blogs a history of James Rosenquist's monumental painting F-111 that was recently re-installed a the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The painting will remain on view through July 30, 2012. Manes notes that "The subject, the F-111 fighter-bomber plane, was in development at the time as part of a military initiative that
Peter Brock interviews painter Bill Jensen on the occasion of his current exhibition of new paintings at Cheim & Read Gallery, New York, on view through February 18, 2012. Jensen discusses in depth his the origins of his recent group of triptychs. He remarks: "I think with the physical dimension of the panels, I'm able
Altoon Sultan visits the exhibition The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on view through March 18, 2012. Sultan writes: "When we look at a portrait painted hundreds of years ago, do we enter into the life of the person portrayed? For me, it is less the understanding of
John Yau reviews Glenn Goldberg: Elixirs, Tales and Remedies at Jason McCoy Gallery, New York, on view through February 24, 2012. Yau writes: "By wanting his paintings 'to take you toward, not away,' Goldberg rejects spectacle, entertainment, anything that tries to distract you from time passing, everyday life, and mortality. He has developed and honed
Video studio visit with painter Vincent Hawkins where he discusses his recent works on "cardboard and oval-shaped supports." Hawkins notes his interest in "releasing some of the forms out of the constriction of the edge and trying to release it into the environment rather than containing it within the edge of the format of the
Caleb De Jong reviews the exhibition Mary Corse: New Work at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York, on view through March 10, 2012. De Jong writes: "A phenomenological experience only appreciable after soaking in the light and air of California, Corse's paintings are a trippy, Los Angeles attitudinal response to Agnes Martin's arid Taos grids. Digitally,
[VIDEO] Nicholas Tromans discusses Richard Dadd's The Fairy Feller's Masterstroke and a second "rarely seen version Dadd painted in watercolour, Songe de la Fantasie, both of which Dadd painted while living inside asylums."
Paddy Johnson discusses the life and work of conceptual painter Gerald Ferguson with curator Luke Murphy and CANADA Gallery director Phil Grauer. Luke Murphy notes: "There wasn't any illusion. When [Ferguson] got rid of the opticality, he felt he was doing 'work.' Gerry was very uncomfortable as a painter. He's not the artist dandy–he's the
John Yau reviews Chris Martin at Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York, on view through March 3, 2012. Yau writes: "The central thing that distinguishes Chris Martin from his forebears (Forrest Bess, Alfred Jensen, and Simon Gouveneur) is his meshing of visionary symbols and images derived from mass culture, particularly from the world of popular music...
Zachary Keeting and Christopher Joy visit the studio of painter Christopher Mir. Mir discusses new ideas and directions in his work. He remarks that in his paintings he seeks to "give a voice to my astonishments"
Chloe Nelkin visits the exhibition Lucian Freud Portraits at The National Portrait Gallery, London, on view through May 27, 2012. Nelkin writes that "a biographical approach is inevitable when discussing Freud... but, here, you must just look and revel in the opportunity that is being afforded you and give his work the close attention it
Joanne Mattera reviews the exhibitions Lori Ellison at McKenzie Fine Art and Tantric Paintings at Feature Inc., New York (both shows on view through February 11, 2012) Mattera writes that "In description, two current exhibitions of small works couldn't sound more different: One, eye-bendingly complex, is idiosyncratic and personal, the work of a New Yorker,
Alison Pilkington posts about "Sunday painter," Croatian artist Ivan Generalic (1914-1992). Pilkington writes that "Most of Generalic’s paintings are done on the back of glass, a technique that he mastered over several decades and one that reflected his folk roots and craft traditions... Generalic's painting are a visual delight but also an inexplicable blend of
Gallery going at Thaddaeus Ropac leads to some thoughts on the uniqueness of Anselm Kiefer's painting surfaces. "There have been many paintings in past and recent years that utilize paint's materiality to emulate textures from flesh to smoke. Some names that come to mind include Allison Schulnik, Annie Hemond Hotte, Jyrki Riekki, or Katy Moran.
Mario Naves reviews an exhibition of recent works by Howard Buchwald at Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, on view though March 10, 2012. Naves writes: "Buchwald believes in the eye above all. His rigorously choreographed arrays of wriggling, rubbery lines and declarative, eye-rattling colors couldn’t kowtow to extra-aesthetic imperative if they wanted to. The rhythms
Whitney Kimball reviews Sarah McEneaney: New Work at Tibor de Nagy, New York, on view through March 10, 2012. Kimball writes: "Throughout Sarah McEneaney's modest-sized egg tempera paintings... we find a singular tourist: a middle-aged woman in water shoes, a bike helmet, rectangular glasses, sketchbook in hand, often surrounded by cats. Her sunny landscapes and