In the NY Sun, painter/critic Stephen Maine usually provides an entertainingly illuminating read. This week, Maine considers abstract painters Ruth Root and John Zinsser. “Creative maturation is a tricky business. While no one talks about ‘developing a style’ anymore, many artists do look to refine their approach to core material and intellectual concerns, to take possession of and fully occupy a distinctive zone of operations, without lapsing into formulaic solutions. John Zinsser and Ruth Root are established, mid-career painters who have both arrived at just such a juncture of experimentation and branding. In current exhibitions, at Andrew Kreps and James Graham & Sons, respectively, these bold and brainy formalists demonstrate heavy investment in the visual mechanics of pictorial experience, with quite different takes on such fundamentals as color, surface, drawing, and the presence of the painting as an object. Both augment their art historical influences with allusions to popular culture. In different ways, they find a balance between brashness and polish, hedonism and austerity.” Read more.
“Ruth Root,” Adrew Kreps, New York, NY. Through March 16.
“John Zinsser,” JG Contemporary, New York, NY. Through March 8.
