Susanna Coffey: From Self to City

John Goodrich reviews the exhibition Susanna Coffey: Nocturnes at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects, New York, on view through April 22, 2012.

This show, Goodrich writes, "concentrates on another, little-known facet of [Coffey's] work: the tiny, nocturnal cityscapes and landscapes—rarely larger than 8 inches across—that the artist has been producing for at least 15 years now. Like the self-portraits, they convince in plastic terms: trees, buildings and streets settle believably into their own spaces. Painted invariably in a single session, their looser, brushier strokes evince a greater urgency of technique."