Filed under: Art World, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Must-Sees, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Fe | Tags: Exhibitions, February, Must-SEe, NAP, Paintings, Publishers Pick, Steven Zevitas
One of the best parts of my job is getting to see the careers of artists that we have worked with take off. Artists such as James Siena, Amy Cutler and Matthew Day Jackson were all featured in New American Paintings long before they reached the international spotlight. This month is not only an extraordinary month for the medium of painting at galleries around the country, it is a particularly strong month for New American Paintings’ alumni. No fewer than twenty artists featured in past, or upcoming editions, have their work on view in February. Two of my favorites, Summer Wheat and Benjamin Degen, will be featured in the soon to be released 2012 Northeast Edition (#98).
I want to bring special attention to the work of Sarah McEneaney, who was first featured in the mid-1990s. Based in Philadelphia, Sarah is a profoundly gifted artist, and, in my opinion, simply one of the best painters working today. Her painstakingly crafted egg tempera paintings have always had a startling immediacy. Of the many micro-trends that are noticeable in current painting practice, a certain predilection for “faux-naïve” representation is high among them. Sarah was entrenched in this pictorial language long before it washed over the art world. Unlike many younger artists, her creative direction is not a conceptual gambit; rather, it is born out of an internal necessity. - Steven Zevitas, Editor/Publisher
Summer Wheat | Onlooker, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches
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Filed under: Art Market, Art World, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Must-Sees, New Jersey, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, Philly, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle | Tags: December, Must-SEe
In the 300+ gallery exhibitions that we previewed for this post, we discovered a number of New American Paintings’ alumni on view in December. Jim Lutes continues to produce a substantial body of work and, once again, demonstrates why he is one of Chicago’s leading painters. And check out Dolphin Gallery’s group exhibition “Push” which features several NAP artists, including a favorite of ours, Michael Krueger. Other shows that stand out: Fernando Mastrangelo at Charest-Weinberg, Byron Kim and James Cohan Gallery, and Cordy Ryman and Eli Ridgway. Enjoy the list! Please check them out and let us know what you think in the comments section after the jump!
Cordy Ryman | Shadow Boxed, acrylic, enamel and graphite on wood, 38 x 33.5 x 3.5 inches
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Filed under: New York, Portland, Review | Tags: Brian Fee, Fragment, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Josh Keyes, Migration, New York, Portland
I was pleasantly taken aback by Portland-based artist Josh Keyes’ (NAP #49 & #67) vividly photo-realistic renderings of fauna in cleaved terrain in Fragment, his debut solo exhibition at Jonathan LeVine Gallery last winter. In one fell swoop, Keyes juxtaposed Audobon-precise animals interacting with textbook-style bisected and angled landscapes overrun with premonitions of global warming, a mix of heady surrealism and acute future reality. To say I anticipated his return to the gallery, in Migration — which auspiciously coincided with my long weekend back in town — would be a grave understatement. What I discovered in Keyes’ new series of dissected environments was an even greater sense of realism, between the animals themselves and their depictions, plus the underlying warning signs of a planet headed towards environmental uncertainty. Read more from Austin Contributor, Brian Fee, after the jump!
Josh Keyes | Tangled IV, 2011, acrylic on panel, 30″ x 40″, Courtesy of Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York.
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Filed under: Portland, Review | Tags: Erin Langner, Kristen Miller, Memento, PDX, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland
Before experiencing Kristen Miller’s (NAP #67) exhibition Memento at PDX Contemporary in Portland, it is difficult to avoid thinking of Christopher Nolan’s indelible film of the same title. However, where Nolan’s treatise on memory employed tension and dramatic manipulation, Miller’s works small works on paper and textiles rely on delicate constructions, meditative techniques and minimal materials. Rarely straying from a spectrum of white and beige, Miller carefully sews tiny seed beads and paints comparably scaled dots of gouache into delicate, vulnerable forms suspended in space. – Erin Langner, Seattle Contributor
Beginning and Ending 1, 2011, paper and gouache,16.375″ x 18,” image courtesy of PDX Contemporary. Click Image To View Larger
Filed under: Alabama, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Must-Sees, New York, Philly, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle | Tags: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, DC, Houston, Los Angeles, Must-SEe, NAP, New American Paintings, New York, Northeast, Pacific Coast, painting, San Francisco, Seattle
The art world comes alive again in September, as galleries reopen and collectors return from far flung locations. We reviewed upcoming September exhibitions at more than 400 galleries around the country, and there will be a lot of painting on view.
As is typical, many galleries are bringing out the big guns for the new season – from Agnes Martin at The Pace Gallery in New York to a well structured survey of Bay Area figurative painter, Nathan Oliveira, at John Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco. Among the shows opening by emerging artists, it is hard to ignore the trend towards abstract painting that has swept over the art world.
Kimberly Brooks | Punk History, oil on linen, 40 x 36 inches. Courtesy of Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles.
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Filed under: Art World, Portland | Tags: Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Kelli Rule
John Sansini, Francisco and Louie, oil on canvas, 72″ x 60″, 2008
I’ll admit, with all the hubbub over Portland’s annual Trek In The Park (trust me, it’s huge), I was lured into Elizabeth Leach Gallery by Luke Butler’s stunning little trio of Trek characters (which we spotted earlier this year while shooting video at Art Los Angeles Contemporary), which show Bones, Kirk, and Spock, in that order, frozen in anguish on seas of gray. Butler is attracted to Trek and more specifically, Kirk, calling the Captain “a model of vulnerability,” and of Shatner, the man, “His vulnerabilities are on the surface for all to see.” What’s great, too, is that Butler’s fallen heroes – though Trek they be – aren’t silly, and they don’t aspire to kitsch – they’re too well-painted, and too inspiring of pathos. Butler’s most well-known works are the Star Trek pieces, but his work at large too deals with masculinity and vulnerability. (Google him and check out the nude president collages.)
There are more heroes in the group show: John Sansini’s “Francisco and Louie” is a love letter to big, bold painting – the oil is rich and swirly and begs to be touched. According to the gallery, Sonsini hires day-laborers who are typically tapped for manual labor, mainly building projects or landscaping, and pays them hourly to model. The subjects, with their Thomas Hart Benton hands and head-on gaze, rule the room.
More after the jump! Kelli Rule, Portland contributor
Filed under: Art World, Competitions, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle | Tags: 97, Anne Ellegood, competitions, Hammer Museum, Pacific Coast, Robert Minervini
Robert Minervini, L. A. (sell me something else) | Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 68 inches. Featured in edition #91 of New American Paintings.
Just more than two weeks are left for artists to apply to our annual Pacific Coast competition, one of our most anticipated and highly sought-after books of the year. Jurying the submissions this year is none other than Anne Ellegood, Senior Curator at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. We’re thrilled to have Anne as our Pacific Coast juror for the 2011 competition, and we’re excited to see the work from each of the artists who apply.
The Pacific Coast competition is open to artists living in AK, CA, HI, OR, and WA, and the deadline to apply is Thursday June 30, which is just around the corner, so get cracking.
Artists can now apply online! Simply visit our competition page and follow the instructions. It’s easier than ever to apply. But do it by June 30!
Filed under: Art World, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Must-Sees, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle | Tags: Annie Lapin, Eric Zener, Gaylen Hansen, Iva Gueorguieva, John Bankston, Kenna Moser, Marci Washington, Must-Sees, Paul Nudd, Rachel Niffenegger, Ron Ehrlich, Sandow Birk, Sara Eichner, Taravat Talepasand
Iva Gueorguieva, I as Bear, 2011 | Acrylic and collage on canvas, 90 x 84 inches. Courtesy Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe, New York.
The sun is out, the air is cool, and the new shows are getting hot. New York Gallery Week is in full swing, and private galleries across the country are giving it all they’ve got before collectors and gallery-goers disappear for the summer. Our editorial staff have put together our monthly Must-See list for the month of May, our guide to more than 50 of the best contemporary painting exhibitions in the country, including 15 shows of artists previously featured in New American Paintings and dozens of notable and not-to-be-missed shows across the USA. From L.A. to Chicago, Houston to New York and back, our guide includes exhibitions in every corner of the country. Images and listings after the jump!
Filed under: Art World, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Los Angeles, Must-Sees, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle | Tags: Claire Sherman, David Rathman, Frohawk Two Feathers, Gianna Commito, Heyd Fontenot, Jaq Chartier, Jonas Wood, Josh Smith, Kenneth Noland, Kristine Moran, Must-Sees, Robert Jessup, Steve Roden, Tomory Dodge, William Swanson
Kristine Moran, Slow-wave 2, 2011 | Oil on canvas, 60 x 54 inches. Courtesy of Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York
It’s March, which means art fairs and new spring openings. The snow is melting (somewhat) and it’s time to hit the pavement to see some new work. The editorial staff at New American Paintings have put together a list of more than 40 of the top painting exhibitions on view at private galleries across the country this month—from New York to Los Angeles, Chicago to Miami, and more—including more than a dozen shows from artists previously included in New American Paintings and featuring dozens of notable and not-to-be-missed shows from across the country.
Filed under: Art World, Portland | Tags: CANADA, Elena Pankova, Kelli Rule, Portland
Elena Pankova, All Untitled, 2010, Acrylic on canvas, dimensions variable. Courtesy CANADA, New York.
“Between my head and my hand there is always the face of death” is a quote from dadaist Francis Picabia. In the group show of the same name at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), guest curator Kristan Kennedy interprets this quote with seven contemporary painters whose works explore the psychology and mortality of the human form through the physicality of paint.
Among the more curious of works on display are Elena Pankova’s untitled installation of paintings flanked by a hanging houseplant. Crude, abstracted facial features are stenciled in layers on warm black backgrounds. From a distance, the works are vibratory dashes of pure color. Up close, you can see the artist’s hand. Some brushstrokes are transparent, painted deftly, and delicately, and the effect almost resembles cut and layered tissue paper. Others are opaque — creamy whites, powdery blues, and come off powerful, like warrior masks.
According to the Kennedy, Pankova’s faces are “fractured family portraits.” The plant is meant to reinforce the idea that the faces (though we’re psychologically predisposed to identify with them) are not really what’s alive. By deflecting our identification, it puts the focus on the medium. Pankova’s paint and pattern—not subject matter—is what’s most visceral. More pics after the jump. —Kelli Rule, Portland contributor
