In the NY Observer, Mario Naves reports that Peter Saul’s paintings at David Nolan aren’t as funny or caustic as they should be. “Bernie Madoff and his testicles make a fleeting appearance in Peter Saul�s exhibition of paintings and works-on-paper at David Nolan Gallery, and New Yorkers are poorer for it. Actually, it�s Mr. Madoff�s castration Mr. Saul depicts. Notwithstanding the artist�s typically over-the-top finger-pointing, the ‘Maddoff’ drawings aren�t anywhere near as disgusting, funny or caustic as they should be. The Ponzi King deserves, not commentary done on a deadline, but vitriol made gross and lurid through paint. Mr. Saul�s finicky style, with its innumerable pats of oversaturated color, is inherently anti-immediate; we�ll have to wait for his definitive take on capitalist excess and arrogance. But then, topicality isn�t Mr. Saul�s forte. Bile is. For the last 50 years or so, he�s thrived on the stuff, and created a body of work that stands as a monument to garish, adolescent overkill.” Read more.
“Peter Saul: New Paintings� David Nolan Gallery, New York, NY. Through May 23.
