Contributed by Sharon Butler / At the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, curators Eric Crosby and Bartholomew Ryan have organized “Painter Painter,” an exhibition comprising work by fifteen artists, some of whom are working with painting materials in ways that are often labeled “painting” but may be more firmly rooted in Minimalism and Process Art than with the formidable history of painting and abstraction. Considering the work presented in this show as well as the work selected for the deCordova Museum’s “Paint Things,” perhaps we aren’t experiencing an expansion of painting as the curators have proposed, but rather a return to handmade sculptural objects…that sometimes have paint on them or are hung on the wall.
Tag: Matt Connors
Small talk with Roberta Smith
In the NY Times, Roberta Smith notices that the galleries are full of small abstract painting lately.”Small may be beautiful, but where abstract painting is concerned, it is rarely fashionable. Big has held center stage at least since Jackson Pollock; the small abstractions of painters like Myron Stout, Forrest Bess […]
Matt Connors at Canada
In his first solo show at Canada, Matt Connors presents a predictably sloppy version of modernism. Although I don’t see the “rigor of an Ellsworth Kelly ” that’s mentioned in the press release (are they pulling my leg?), the awkward color, not-quite geometric shapes and flat-footed paint handling have a […]
Jukkala doesn’t name names in New Haven
The current show at Artspace in New Haven, CT, highlights seven painters whose abstract work focuses on elements of color, shape, and surface. The imagery alludes to structures, figures, and recognizable forms, yet remains abstract and unnameable. The painters include Matt Connors, Keltie Ferris, Chris Martin, Carrie Moyer, Baker Overstreet, […]