Calvin Tomkins profiles artist Mark Bradford. Tomkins writes: "Although he hasn’t really used artist’s paints or brushes since he was in art school, what Bradford makes are abstract paintings. He starts with a stretched canvas and builds up its surface with ten or fifteen layers of paper—white paper, colored paper, newsprint, reproductions, photographs, printed texts—fixing
Larry Groff interviews painter Celia Reisman. An exhibition of Reisman's recent paintings was recently on view Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco. Commenting on the effect of moving to California from Philadelphia, Reisman notes: "I’ve always been attracted to color in the landscape looking for some distinguishing color, like a red bush or a yellow umbrella.
Alex Bacon interviews Mary Corse whose paintings are on view at Lehmann Maupin, New York, through June 13, 2015. Corse comments: "What interests me now a lot too, especially with the black and white paintings, is when I put the black and the white together: that edge. It’s so optical. It starts flashing. We’ve never
John Yau reviews Robert Motherwell: Opens at Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, on view through June 20, 2015. Yau begins: "Robert Motherwell didn’t believe that Pablo Picasso or Henri Matisse were figures to be overthrown. Instead of trying to triumph over them, he was convinced that he could expand upon their innovations. Moreover, he felt
Sharon Butler blogs about Jacqueline Humphries at Greene Naftali, New York, on view through June 20, 2015. Butler notes that "Digital screens, halftone dot patterns, emoticons, and other typographic symbols comprise the imagery in Jacqueline Humphries's new series of large-scale paintings... Once considered a Provisional painter, Humphries's new work is anything but contingent. Slick and
Jason Mones writes about the work of Leon Golub on view at Hauser & Wirth, New York through June 20, 2015. Mones writes: "I find a personal fascination with the timeless quality in [Golub's] series, as they speak of the dark history of Man’s violent inner brutality, both tragically and compassionately. It’s invigorating to see
Paul Corio reviews paintings by Don Voisine at McKenzie Fine Art, New York, on view through June 14, 2015. Corio writes that a "new device in these pictures is a particular grey which is not mixed but would appear to be produced by applying black paint over a white ground then scraping or sanding back
Evan Smith reviews The Guston Effect at Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, on view through August 15, 2015. Smith writes that the show "makes a broad, convincingly argued statement about the lingering spectre of Guston in the work of dozens of painters... The response of many artists in the show is to produce a kind of
Raphael Rubinstein considers the career of painter Albert Oehlen. Rubinstein observes: "Interestingly, Oehlen refers to his 1988-97 abstract paintings as 'post-non-objective.' The phrase is odd since you would expect an artist who had switched from figuration to abstraction to call his new work 'post-representational' or 'post-figurative' rather than 'post-non-objective,' the term 'non-objective' being a common
Lea Feinstein reviews Jacob Lawrence: Promised Land at the Cantor Arts Center, Stanford, on view through August 3, 2015. Feinsteing writes: "Like the Italian masters who depicted scenes from the Bible, Lawrence created extended narrative cycles. He chose to chronicle the stories of normal citizens like himself—largely invisible in the art of the time—and situate
Peter Malone reviews Audrey Flack: The Abstract Expression Years at Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York, on view through June 6, 2015. Malone writes: "Though Flack has become an artist with an impressive career as a representational painter, and later a sculptor of public monuments, her early experiments in abstract painting — like those of Pat
Piri Halasz reviews works by Al Loving at Garth Greenan Gallery, New York, on view through June 27, 2015. Halasz writes that Loving's "mixed media collages are magisterially composed of almost incredibly intricate cut-out spirals, strips, diagrammatically outlined boxes, curlicues and other geometric flourishes. Everything is soldered together and elegantly colored, with multiple hues that
Fabian Marcaccio writes about the work of Jasper Johns. Marcaccio observes: "Most American painters are voluntarily simplistic. They are proud of maintaining one single technique, working on one single support and keeping one single attitude over the course of their careers. Johns wants to be a complete painter, not a specialist in this or that.
A. Zlotowitz reviews Rosy Keyser: The Hell Bitch at Maccarone Gallery, New York, on view through June 6, 2015. Zlotowitz writes that in her recent work, Keyser "continues the discourse of painterly reduction. While breaking away from the traditional frame, Keyser’s works allow for viewers to consider definitions of empathy, profanity and form through her
Larry Groff interviews painter Julian Kreimer whose work was recently on view at the Lux Art Institute. Asked about making both abstract and perceptual paintings Kreimer comments: "Some of the things are really central to both. The negative space is probably the main link in both: if there’s a kind of formal structure that has
Mark Stone blogs about two painting exhibitions on view in Venice Sean Scully: Land Sea curated by Danilo Eccher at Palazzo Falier (through November 22) and Peter Doig at Palazzetto Tito. Stone writes: "Scully’s newer works have gotten much looser, the paint handling is more offhand, drippier, the compositions have opened up and become less
John Mitchell blogs about the work of Malcom Morley, on view at Sperone Westwater, New York through June 6, 2015. Mitchell writes: "There’s a poetic multiplicity of meaning to every aspect of Malcolm’s work. The spirit of playfulness in his painting is joyful and at 83, he’s charged with youthful vigor for his work –
Oliva Laing profiles painter Agnes Martin. An exhibition of Martin's work will be on view at Tate Modern from June 3 – October 11, 2015. Laing begins "Art must derive from inspiration, Agnes Martin said, and yet for decades she painted what seems at first glance to be the same thing over and over again,
Thomas Micchelli reviews Karen Schwartz: Down the Rabbit Hole at Life on Mars Gallery, Bushwick, Brooklyn, on view through May 31, 2015. Micchelli writes: "Despite the recognizable humans, birds and animals floating in and out of Schwartz’s canvases, Morgan argues that her work is more strongly connected to Abstract Expressionism than to a likelier source,
Katelynn Mills reviews the recent exhibition Bill Jensen: Transgressions at Cheim & Read, New York. Mills writes that "Jensen’s work communicates something profound about the union of spirit and physical being. He addresses the heart of humanity in his process and reminds us how to stay in touch with ourselves in a society which encourages