Contributed by James J.A. Mercer / There is an undeniable lushness to the paintings and textiles in Annette Hurs solo show Watching from the Other Side at Hesse Flatow in Chelsea. Elegant shapes shine through dappled light and leaves. Oils blur, drip, or dive across the surface at wild angles. But discolorations and deformations suggest that something is unresolved, something is in process.
Solo Shows
Ann Schaumburger: The shape of home
Contributed by Jonathan Goodman / Ann Schaumburger is a disciplined and systematic painter. She uses basic geometric motifs (triangle, rectangle, and square) to develop permutations of a core set of four brilliant colors that elaborate the intuitive resonance of a single structure: the gabled roof house. Works recently on view at A.I.R. Gallery draw on miners stone houses in Cornwall, England, and prefabricated metal sheds in Amherst, Virginia. The idea of a home, however schematic, evokes real-world associations, establishing a rich and subtle balance between form and content.
A Two Coats Conversation with Stephen Westfall
Stephen Westfall has engaged with geometric abstraction in singularly rich and sophisticated ways for more than thirty years, never complacent but always considered. Last week, I had the opportunity to talk with him at Alexandres new Lower East Side space, where his work is on view through December 22.
Devra Fox’s eccentric realism
Contributed by Jonathan Goodman / Devra Foxs thirteen graphite drawings on view at Hesse Flatow in Chelsea, two blue and the rest gray, depict structures organic in presentation but with an eerie resemblance to manmade objects such as furniture.
Jennifer Packer’s tender distance
Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / Its quite a feat for a figurative painter to achieve both intimacy and remove simultaneously, but Jennifer Packer accomplishes just that in The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing, the vibrant survey of her work at the Whitney.
Alan Prazniak’s kaleidoscopic view
Contributed by Jonathan Goodman / Alan Prazniak’s small paintings, on view at Geary Contemporary in NYC and Millerton, align with one another, offering a kaleidoscopic account of open meadows and grasslands, perhaps informed by early memories.
Thoughts on that small Yuskavage painting
A twelve-inch canvas Lisa Yuskavage included in her exhibition at David Zwirner upstages the entire show and much of the work the artist has exhibited to date.
Elizabeth Murray in Buffalo and for the ages
Contributed by Dana Tyrrell / From 1965 to 1967, Elizabeth Murray a towering presence in contemporary painting who died in 2007 lived and worked in Buffalo, New York. Having moved from San Francisco to teach at Rosary Hill College (now Daemen College), she used her time in Buffalo to build up to living and working in New York City. Elizabeth Murray: Back In Town, Anderson Gallery at the University at Buffalo, demonstrated that this interlude was formative to the canonically understood Elizabeth Murray.
Bad Boyfriends and Pink Bathers : A conversation with Janice Nowinski
Contributed by Sangram Majumdar / On the occasion of her first exhibition, beautifully installed at Thomas Erben Gallery, Janice Nowinski and I talked about how time presents itself in every aspect of her paintings – from references to art and personal histories, to the very material qualities of the work.
Stacy Lynn Waddell: Moving backwards to jump ahead
Contributed by Jonathan Goodman / In �Mettle,� Stacy Lynn Waddell�s expansive show at Candice Madey, the artist embraces different cultures throughout the world: Malian life in the 1960s; nineteenth-century American painting reflecting burgeoning capitalism; and seventeenth-century Dutch flower painting.