Publishing the unpublished: Coates on Bromirski

At anaba, Martin Bromirski has posted an unpublished review of his 2006 show, Art of This Century, written by painting pal Jason Coates. “When discussing Martin Bromirski’s one person show at Haigh Jamgochian’s wonderfully out of place Markel Building in Richmond, VA, it is quite possible to focus only on the near-perfect matchup between the small group of paintings and the site. For starters, Jamgochian’s office building- which resembles a gigantic flying saucer plopped down amid the car dealerships and strip malls on West Broad Street, has the same future-as-imagined-from-the-past quality that Bromirski’s misty abstracts capture. Bromirski has a knack for redefining the center, often creating art venues where there were none. He’s accomplished this with his popular art blog anaba, his mock Art Basel at Stuffy’s Sub Shop in Richmond, and now this show at what Bromirski deems the ‘Bizzarro Guggenheim.’ But equally as interesting is the way that the paintings ask you to imagine where they have been. The handful of small paintings are hung in a circular lobby among an elevator entrance and vending machines. Yet, even in this modest setting, Bromirski’s paintings appear unassuming- almost tailor made to blend into the space. It is this unassuming quality- bordering on sweetness and pathos- that sets this work apart from his earlier, grander paintings. Previously, Bromirski’s large scale work would center around a tiny, barely recognizable figure dwarfed by it’s surroundings . In the new body of work, the individual paintings become characters themselves, ready to be crammed into a suitcase like a stack of dog-eared postcards and rushed off to the next adventure.” Read more.