Tomorrow is the last day to see Wendy White’s show at Leo Koenig, Inc.–my apologies for not posting it sooner. White’s loud abstract language alludes to the bombardment of the everyday. Urban sprawl, space junk, graffiti, buried hazardous material, and the accumulation of refuse, punctuated by heavy black areas that map a direct trail from the ubiquitous to the subconscious. In New York Magazine’s Critics’ Picks, Jerry Saltz recommends it, too. “There are so many artists inspired by Christopher Wool, Albert Oehlen, and Charline Von Heyl right now that you�d think those people were Greek Gods. While many of their imitators� work can look dandy-like and mannered in its nonchalance and quasi-expressionism, a number of younger folks are hitting pay dirt. One is Wendy White, who balances wildness and withholding, with a dose of something almost diabolically planned. She delivers three punches at once: Color, graffiti-like agility, and formal structure. This prevents her work from looking angsty, imitative, and fake. Her paintings have a presence the reminds one of billboards and websites, something at once physical and disembodied.” At Time Out, Jennifer Coates describes White’s paintings as athletic and spastic, like Abstract Expressionism on Gatorade.
“Wendy White: Autokennel,” Leo Koenig, Inc., New York, NY. Through August 1.
