Contributed by Adam Simon / At first glance, Tom McGlynn’s paintings, on display at his solo show “What Gives” at Rick Wester Fine Art, seem to be examples of minimalist abstraction, free of narrative, subject, or anything associative. His arrangements of rectangles of solid color on a monochromatic field evoke modernism’s utopian origins: Mondrian, Van Doesburg, De Stijl, Neo-plasticism, painting purged of anything that could be thought extraneous. For contemporary abstract painters, however, these basic shapes are historically weighted signifiers, no longer free of association. One cannot now make a geometric abstract painting without it also being a depiction of a geometric abstract painting. McGlynn is fully aware of this doubling. For him, it isn’t a quandary as much as a defining characteristic of his work. What is remarkable is that, out of such seemingly depleted soil, he can conjure such visual richness.
Tag: Tom McGlynn
Non-intent, or, questioning the tyranny of curatorial premise, at Osmos Address
“Mind the Gaps” at the Osmos space on East 1st Street takes as its curatorial premise that it has no consistent curatorial premise and so offers a welcome respite to the incessant connecting of dots of contemporary life. The curatorial statement of non-intent leaves viewers to “puzzle out their own version of coherence.”
Claire Seidl: Unbounded in time
Contributed by Tom McGlynn / Claire Seidl’s contemplative works are closely aligned with the Abstract Expressionist/Existentialist ideal whereby the painter must be eminently present in order to access and transmit the sincerity of experience. Her paintings are not history bound, however, but rooted in the perennial quest for a very personal gesture unbounded.
Carolanna Parlato�s sporting informe
Contributed by Tom McGlynn / Carolanna Parlato, to my mind, has been building up to her most recent show of paintings for about 25 years, since I first became aware of her work. The single-mindedness with which she has maintained her focus on combining gestural pouring and what might be […]
Meet the 2019 Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program recipients
This year the 17 artists who get free studio space in DUMBO were selected by jurors Ellen Altfest, Phong Bui, Deborah Kass, Philip Pearlstein, and Daniel Turner from (gasp) 1700 applicants. As usual, the residency period will last from September 2019 through August 2020, with an open studios weekend to […]