Printmaking, Abstraction: “Zero to One on Paper” at Ratio 3
There’s a piece of public art installed in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco that is quintessential Richard Serra. Two 80-ton steel slabs emerge from ground at a slight angle, tilting vertically as they extend 50 feet into the
Printmaking, Abstraction: “Zero to One on Paper” at Ratio 3
There’s a piece of public art installed in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco that is quintessential Richard Serra. Two 80-ton steel slabs emerge from ground at a slight angle, tilting vertically as they extend 50 feet into the
Signifier and Signified: Helen Rebekah Garber at Gallery Wendi Norris
Helen Rebekah Garber’s paintings must be heavy. They’re covered head to toe in thickly impastoed oil paint revealing a layered painting process that must surely take months to complete. The paintings (on view in “Numbers” at Gallery Wendi Norris through January
Signifier and Signified: Helen Rebekah Garber at Gallery Wendi Norris
Helen Rebekah Garber’s paintings must be heavy. They’re covered head to toe in thickly impastoed oil paint revealing a layered painting process that must surely take months to complete. The paintings (on view in “Numbers” at Gallery Wendi Norris through January
Seeing Things Invisible: Forrest Bess at the Berkeley Art Museum
Forrest Bess never made a living as an artist. He spent most of his working life as a bait fisherman off the Texas coast making meager wages and living in ramshackle conditions. Yet he navigated the New York art world
Seeing Things Invisible: Forrest Bess at the Berkeley Art Museum
Forrest Bess never made a living as an artist. He spent most of his working life as a bait fisherman off the Texas coast making meager wages and living in ramshackle conditions. Yet he navigated the New York art world
Outside/Inside: Alicia Mccarthy and Jenny Sharaf at Johansson Projects
The current show at Johansson Projects, Alicia Mccarthy + Jenny Sharaf, is a bit of a study in contrasts. For one, the artists find themselves at different points along their respective career paths. Alicia Mccarthy is a mainstay in the
Outside/Inside: Alicia Mccarthy and Jenny Sharaf at Johansson Projects
The current show at Johansson Projects, Alicia Mccarthy + Jenny Sharaf, is a bit of a study in contrasts. For one, the artists find themselves at different points along their respective career paths. Alicia Mccarthy is a mainstay in the
Mission Schooled: Jason Jägel at Gallery 16
If you’re a fan of underground hip hop then you’ve probably seen Jason Jägel’s (NAP #25) work. He’s produced album cover art for the likes of Dudley Perkins, Madlib, and MF Doom, including the cover of the 2011 reissue of Operation:
Mission Schooled: Jason Jägel at Gallery 16
If you’re a fan of underground hip hop then you’ve probably seen Jason Jägel’s (NAP #25) work. He’s produced album cover art for the likes of Dudley Perkins, Madlib, and MF Doom, including the cover of the 2011 reissue of Operation:
Material Concerns: Q&A with Mitzi Pederson
To say that JPEG images don’t do justice to Mitzi Pederson’s work at Ratio 3 (3:43, open until tomorrow) is a bit of an understatement. Her exploration of materials finds her once again working with tulle, a fine netting that
Material Concerns: Q&A with Mitzi Pederson
To say that JPEG images don’t do justice to Mitzi Pederson’s work at Ratio 3 (3:43, open until tomorrow) is a bit of an understatement. Her exploration of materials finds her once again working with tulle, a fine netting that
The Relativity of Black: Q&A with Laura Judkis
Laura Judkis doesn’t make black paintings. Sometimes she doesn’t even use black in her compositions at all. Her work is pushed by the dark theatrical narratives that are associated with the color black, and even though she often works with other
The Relativity of Black: Q&A with Laura Judkis
Laura Judkis doesn’t make black paintings. Sometimes she doesn’t even use black in her compositions at all. Her work is pushed by the dark theatrical narratives that are associated with the color black, and even though she often works with other
The Relativity of Black: Q&A with Sean Talley
Long time critic David Levi Strauss proposes that art criticism “involves making finer and finer distinctions among like things.” Sean Talley’s most recent body of work makes a similar kind of assertion with regard to color. For every black surface
The Relativity of Black: Q&A with Sean Talley
Long time critic David Levi Strauss proposes that art criticism “involves making finer and finer distinctions among like things.” Sean Talley’s most recent body of work makes a similar kind of assertion with regard to color. For every black surface
The Relativity of Black: Q&A with Vincent Como
We’re all familiar with Spinal Tap’s ruminations on the color black. In this memorable scene of the mockumentary This is Spinal Tap, the band gathers around their manager as he reveals the jacket cover for their new album, Smell the
The Relativity of Black: Q&A with Vincent Como
We’re all familiar with Spinal Tap’s ruminations on the color black. In this memorable scene of the mockumentary This is Spinal Tap, the band gathers around their manager as he reveals the jacket cover for their new album, Smell the
Painting as Shorthand: the lawn chair sculptures of Patrick McDonough
Patrick McDonough’s lawn chairs are not meant for sitting. And if they begin to seem functional, well, it’s all pretend. The sculptures offer the formal concepts of lawn chairs without actually closing the deal — legs and armrests have gone
Painting as Shorthand: the lawn chair sculptures of Patrick McDonough
Patrick McDonough’s lawn chairs are not meant for sitting. And if they begin to seem functional, well, it’s all pretend. The sculptures offer the formal concepts of lawn chairs without actually closing the deal — legs and armrests have gone
Kathryn Cornelius: Let’s Not Ever Be Strangers Again
Maybe one day, Kathryn Cornelius will meet her future spouse. She might fall deeply in love and tie the knot. And it will be for the first time, even if she’s played the bride on seven occasions before. Last summer
Kathryn Cornelius: Let’s Not Ever Be Strangers Again
Maybe one day, Kathryn Cornelius will meet her future spouse. She might fall deeply in love and tie the knot. And it will be for the first time, even if she’s played the bride on seven occasions before. Last summer
Dead Zone: Alex Da Corte at Nudashank
Technically speaking, Dead Zone (at Nudashank through March 17) is a group show curated by Philly-based artist Alex Da Corte. But this description isn’t really accurate. Rather than playing the role of curator, Da Corte is bringing in works by
Dead Zone: Alex Da Corte at Nudashank
Technically speaking, Dead Zone (at Nudashank through March 17) is a group show curated by Philly-based artist Alex Da Corte. But this description isn’t really accurate. Rather than playing the role of curator, Da Corte is bringing in works by
Andrei Molodkin: Crude
It can be a bothersome pairing, art and politics. Politics strives for deliverables and metrics; art may provide neither. If we are to consider the contemporary art world and not, say, the art of the Occupy movement, then the relationship
Andrei Molodkin: Crude
It can be a bothersome pairing, art and politics. Politics strives for deliverables and metrics; art may provide neither. If we are to consider the contemporary art world and not, say, the art of the Occupy movement, then the relationship
The Unfuckable Frontier
The limits of the human mind have something to do with really big numbers. There’s no insight into knowing that Earth is one hundred million miles away from the Sun, for example — it’s just real far. Partly, it’s a matter
The Unfuckable Frontier
The limits of the human mind have something to do with really big numbers. There’s no insight into knowing that Earth is one hundred million miles away from the Sun, for example — it’s just real far. Partly, it’s a matter
Social Practice: A Q&A with Laura Hudson
Laura Hudson has been getting out of the studio. The Baltimore-based painter organizes participatory events, documents them on video, then culls her compositions from the nuanced moments hidden in the hours of footage. For her latest project Laura organized a sleepover
Social Practice: A Q&A with Laura Hudson
Laura Hudson has been getting out of the studio. The Baltimore-based painter organizes participatory events, documents them on video, then culls her compositions from the nuanced moments hidden in the hours of footage. For her latest project Laura organized a sleepover
Modular Abstraction: A Q&A with Judy Rushin
Practical necessity is Judy Rushin’s muse. Well, not exactly. Her Modular series of sculptural paintings are made to be disassembled and reconfigured again; site-specific works that can travel well. Individual modules are aggregated into compositions for new exhibition layouts, then stacked
Modular Abstraction: A Q&A with Judy Rushin
Practical necessity is Judy Rushin’s muse. Well, not exactly. Her Modular series of sculptural paintings are made to be disassembled and reconfigured again; site-specific works that can travel well. Individual modules are aggregated into compositions for new exhibition layouts, then stacked
Emerging Again: D.C.’s (e)merge goes into its second year
Last year’s preview night at (e)merge was a big, ruckus party. Amidst the large crowds it was often difficult to navigate the hallways between exhibitors, and the wait for the elevators always seemed impossibly long. While it may have been loads of
Emerging Again: D.C.’s (e)merge goes into its second year
Last year’s preview night at (e)merge was a big, ruckus party. Amidst the large crowds it was often difficult to navigate the hallways between exhibitors, and the wait for the elevators always seemed impossibly long. While it may have been loads of
Chromatic Archive: Lisa Ruyter at Connersmith
There’s a seemingly direct line between Lisa Ruyter’s work and pop art. Like pop art, Ruyter’s paintings are guided by photography and mass media, her appropriation strategies a central crux of her compositions. But her artistic concerns are decidedly unwarholian. Rather than
Chromatic Archive: Lisa Ruyter at Connersmith
There’s a seemingly direct line between Lisa Ruyter’s work and pop art. Like pop art, Ruyter’s paintings are guided by photography and mass media, her appropriation strategies a central crux of her compositions. But her artistic concerns are decidedly unwarholian. Rather than
From Print to Painting to Print: CTRL+P at Arlington Arts Center
Brian Chippendale came to prominence as a leading figure in the underground art and music scene that blossomed in Providence, RI during the 1990s. At the center of this creative explosion was Fort Thunder, an expansive live-work space co-founded by Chippendale
From Print to Painting to Print: CTRL+P at Arlington Arts Center
Brian Chippendale came to prominence as a leading figure in the underground art and music scene that blossomed in Providence, RI during the 1990s. At the center of this creative explosion was Fort Thunder, an expansive live-work space co-founded by Chippendale
Guns, Art, and a Project by Ryan Carr Johnson and Samuel Dylan Scharf
There’s a long history of guns in contemporary art, from Chris Burden’s Shoot to Sophie Calle’s ballistic treatment of her lover’s letter in Take Care of Yourself to a myriad points in between. And the connection between guns and painting
Guns, Art, and a Project by Ryan Carr Johnson and Samuel Dylan Scharf
There’s a long history of guns in contemporary art, from Chris Burden’s Shoot to Sophie Calle’s ballistic treatment of her lover’s letter in Take Care of Yourself to a myriad points in between. And the connection between guns and painting
David Ostrowski and Jack Henry at Nudashank
This article was originally published in the New American Paintings blog in June of this year. This exhibition closed on July 8.
David Ostrowski and Jack Henry at Nudashank
This article was originally published in the New American Paintings blog in June of this year. This exhibition closed on July 8.
Contemporary Wing Opens in D.C.
I catch up with Lauren Gentile, founder and director of newly opened D.C. gallery Contemporary Wing, to talk about her new exhibition space, her previous project “Next Generation,” and her inaugural show featuring the work of Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi.
Contemporary Wing Opens in D.C.
I catch up with Lauren Gentile, founder and director of newly opened D.C. gallery Contemporary Wing, to talk about her new exhibition space, her previous project “Next Generation,” and her inaugural show featuring the work of Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi.
Rehashing History: Frohawk Two Feathers at Heiner Contemporary
The work of Frohawk Two Feathers, pseudonym of Chicago-born and L.A.-based artist Umar Rashid, is steeped in folklore. For the better part of ten years the artist has visually explored narratives of colonialism through paintings and exhibitions that cumulatively function like chapters in an epic fantasy. I checked out his current show, “Every Winter Was A War,” She Said, at Heiner Contemporary.
Rehashing History: Frohawk Two Feathers at Heiner Contemporary
The work of Frohawk Two Feathers, pseudonym of Chicago-born and L.A.-based artist Umar Rashid, is steeped in folklore. For the better part of ten years the artist has visually explored narratives of colonialism through paintings and exhibitions that cumulatively function like chapters in an epic fantasy. I checked out his current show, “Every Winter Was A War,” She Said, at Heiner Contemporary.
The Baltimore Contemporary Print Fair at BMA
Last weekend the Baltimore Museum of Art hosted its bi-annual print fair, bringing together a group of exciting printmakers for a small two-day event that featured an artist talk by Trenton Doyle Hancock. My thoughts on the fair, and lots of photos of the most exciting work, after the jump.
The Baltimore Contemporary Print Fair at BMA
Last weekend the Baltimore Museum of Art hosted its bi-annual print fair, bringing together a group of exciting printmakers for a small two-day event that featured an artist talk by Trenton Doyle Hancock. My thoughts on the fair, and lots of photos of the most exciting work, after the jump.
Painted Diplomacy: Tomokazu Matsuyama at AU
“Thousand Regards,” Japanese-American artist Tomokazu Matsuyama’s solo exhibition at American University (through May 20), is timed to coincide with the Cherry Blossom Festival but it’s miles away from the Mall.
Painted Diplomacy: Tomokazu Matsuyama at AU
“Thousand Regards,” Japanese-American artist Tomokazu Matsuyama’s solo exhibition at American University (through May 20), is timed to coincide with the Cherry Blossom Festival but it’s miles away from the Mall.
Of This World: Tom Green at Curator’s Office
This article was originally published in New American Paintings/blog | link “Time is of the essence now.” Most of us will never fully grasp the weight of Tom Green’s words when he spoke to the Washington Post last December. He’d been diagnosed with ALS
Of This World: Tom Green at Curator’s Office
This article was originally published in New American Paintings/blog | link “Time is of the essence now.” Most of us will never fully grasp the weight of Tom Green’s words when he spoke to the Washington Post last December. He’d been diagnosed with ALS
Material Politics: Q&A with Wilmer Wilson IV
Wilmer Wilson’s a busy man. On Thursday he’ll be channeling Henry Box Brown in a performance that’s part of the city-wide public art extravaganza called the “Five by Five Project.” He also opened his first solo show at Conner Contemporary two weeks ago, “Domestic Exchange”, which is on view through May 5th. I recently caught up with Wilmer to ask him a few questions about his work at Conner, and about his upcoming performances for the 5×5 Project.
Material Politics: Q&A with Wilmer Wilson IV
Wilmer Wilson’s a busy man. On Thursday he’ll be channeling Henry Box Brown in a performance that’s part of the city-wide public art extravaganza called the “Five by Five Project.” He also opened his first solo show at Conner Contemporary two weeks ago, “Domestic Exchange”, which is on view through May 5th. I recently caught up with Wilmer to ask him a few questions about his work at Conner, and about his upcoming performances for the 5×5 Project.
Paper Trail: In the studio with Steven Riddle
I recently dropped by Steven Riddle’s studio at Towson University outside of Baltimore, where he’s a second year MFA candidate. You can check out his work space, and our conversation, after the jump.
Paper Trail: In the studio with Steven Riddle
I recently dropped by Steven Riddle’s studio at Towson University outside of Baltimore, where he’s a second year MFA candidate. You can check out his work space, and our conversation, after the jump.
Masquerading Fiction: Dawn Black at Curator’s Office
In her second show at Curator’s Office, Dawn Black pulls characters from her ongoing Conceal Project, and offers a nuanced understanding of the power roles and cues that result from masquerade and from our propensity for playing dress up.
Masquerading Fiction: Dawn Black at Curator’s Office
In her second show at Curator’s Office, Dawn Black pulls characters from her ongoing Conceal Project, and offers a nuanced understanding of the power roles and cues that result from masquerade and from our propensity for playing dress up.
Another Place and Time: Ian Whitmore at G Fine Art
This article was originally published in the New American Paintings blog | link It wasn’t long ago that Ian Whitmore was selling out multiple shows in Washington, D.C. before his paintings were even hung for opening night. It may have
Another Place and Time: Ian Whitmore at G Fine Art
This article was originally published in the New American Paintings blog | link It wasn’t long ago that Ian Whitmore was selling out multiple shows in Washington, D.C. before his paintings were even hung for opening night. It may have
Le Sigh: Gina Beavers at Nudashank
There’s no escaping the physicality of Gina Beavers’ paintings. Culled from the unremarkable — quotidian moments and bits of cultural flotsam — her work is grounded by the immediacy of her source material. Despite the occasional abstraction, these representations aren’t
Le Sigh: Gina Beavers at Nudashank
There’s no escaping the physicality of Gina Beavers’ paintings. Culled from the unremarkable — quotidian moments and bits of cultural flotsam — her work is grounded by the immediacy of her source material. Despite the occasional abstraction, these representations aren’t
Playing Rothko: the Seagram Murals on Arena Stage
This article was originally published in the New American Paintings blog | link If abstract painting is an inward journey seeking truth in the human condition, then perhaps Mark Rothko’s Seagram Murals are heralds for what we’ll find. Commissioned in 1958 for
Playing Rothko: the Seagram Murals on Arena Stage
This article was originally published in the New American Paintings blog | link If abstract painting is an inward journey seeking truth in the human condition, then perhaps Mark Rothko’s Seagram Murals are heralds for what we’ll find. Commissioned in 1958 for
A Mediated Landscape: Q&A with William Betts
This year’s New American Paintings Annual Prize has been awarded to William Betts. If you’re a longtime subscriber to New American Paintings you’re probably familiar with the work of the Houston-based artist. Betts has appeared in editions #60, #72, #84 and most recently as an Editor’s
A Mediated Landscape: Q&A with William Betts
This year’s New American Paintings Annual Prize has been awarded to William Betts. If you’re a longtime subscriber to New American Paintings you’re probably familiar with the work of the Houston-based artist. Betts has appeared in editions #60, #72, #84 and most recently as an Editor’s
Collecting Critically: A Q&A with Henry Thaggert
Andy Warhol’s relationship to abstraction is charged. Despite a late–career painterly impulse — which included the Shadows series currently exhibiting at the Hirshhorn — his pictorial language based on representation fundamentally questioned the narrative of post-war painting as defined by Clement Greenberg. And the implications of Pop Art’s
Collecting Critically: A Q&A with Henry Thaggert
Andy Warhol’s relationship to abstraction is charged. Despite a late–career painterly impulse — which included the Shadows series currently exhibiting at the Hirshhorn — his pictorial language based on representation fundamentally questioned the narrative of post-war painting as defined by Clement Greenberg. And the implications of Pop Art’s
By Any Means Necessary: Q&A with Chip Allen
Chip Allen’s letting loose. He’s squeegeed, splattered, and gesturally brushed over his geometric abstractions, and by the looks of it action painting’s winning out. His loose, intuitive marks and smudges run interference across seemingly systematic lines, the resulting balance a taut
By Any Means Necessary: Q&A with Chip Allen
Chip Allen’s letting loose. He’s squeegeed, splattered, and gesturally brushed over his geometric abstractions, and by the looks of it action painting’s winning out. His loose, intuitive marks and smudges run interference across seemingly systematic lines, the resulting balance a taut
A Colorful Language: Paintings by Mel Bochner at the National Gallery of Art
The Tower Gallery at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is currently exhibiting a collection of Bochner’s recent Thesaurus Paintings and preparatory drawings alongside his early and precursory text-based Portraits (1966-1968). With regard to Bochner’s recent work, NGA curator James Meyer observed of Bochner’s recent paintings, “a kind of American Realism has entered Conceptualism’s back door.”
A Colorful Language: Paintings by Mel Bochner at the National Gallery of Art
The Tower Gallery at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is currently exhibiting a collection of Bochner’s recent Thesaurus Paintings and preparatory drawings alongside his early and precursory text-based Portraits (1966-1968). With regard to Bochner’s recent work, NGA curator James Meyer observed of Bochner’s recent paintings, “a kind of American Realism has entered Conceptualism’s back door.”
Historical Lineage: Q&A with Matthew Craven
Much of Matthew Craven’s meticulous work exists as both colorful abstraction and surreal historical document. His transformation of images appropriated from history textbooks nudge and reconfigure the original historical narratives. And his modular treatment of familiar forms unexpectedly activates their hidden potential
Historical Lineage: Q&A with Matthew Craven
Much of Matthew Craven’s meticulous work exists as both colorful abstraction and surreal historical document. His transformation of images appropriated from history textbooks nudge and reconfigure the original historical narratives. And his modular treatment of familiar forms unexpectedly activates their hidden potential
Progress Report: Q&A with Kris Chatterson and Vince Contarino
Give it time and the Internet will mobilize for change in just about any arena. So it’s not surprising that artist-run exhibition spaces — always bastions of change — are increasingly striving for a stronger onlinepresence, sometimes even eschewing fixed brick-and-mortar
Progress Report: Q&A with Kris Chatterson and Vince Contarino
Give it time and the Internet will mobilize for change in just about any arena. So it’s not surprising that artist-run exhibition spaces — always bastions of change — are increasingly striving for a stronger onlinepresence, sometimes even eschewing fixed brick-and-mortar
The Writing’s on the Wall: Q&A with David Kramer
Considering current events, it may be easy to wonder if David Kramer’s paintings have a slight political bent. Much like the characters in his work, we’ve had to collectively reassess our own aspirations amid the failed promises of the credit and housing bubbles. But
The Writing’s on the Wall: Q&A with David Kramer
Considering current events, it may be easy to wonder if David Kramer’s paintings have a slight political bent. Much like the characters in his work, we’ve had to collectively reassess our own aspirations amid the failed promises of the credit and housing bubbles. But
Highlights from (e)merge: the Artists Platform
Unlike the gallery platform, two-dimensional works were a bit less common in the artist platform at (e)merge. It’s not surprising — in their call to artists the organizers expressed an interest in site-specific work that engaged with the idiosyncrasies of a hotel setting.
Highlights from (e)merge: the Artists Platform
Unlike the gallery platform, two-dimensional works were a bit less common in the artist platform at (e)merge. It’s not surprising — in their call to artists the organizers expressed an interest in site-specific work that engaged with the idiosyncrasies of a hotel setting.
Parkway 