Raphael Rubinstein blogs about the work of painter James Bishop on the occasion of an exhibition of Bishop's paintings at David Zwirner, New York, on view through October 25, 2014.

Rubinstein writes: "Among major artists, Bishop may be the most elusive: his work either unseen or, if encountered at one of his excessively rare exhibitions, as reticent as a whisper. Thin color has flooded the canvas or paper and receded, leaving visible a residue of barely emerged drawing that suggests an archeological dig seen through patchy fog. Rather than minimalist, the works are subliminalist."