Kaveri Raina at Hammond Harkins Galleries, Columbus, Ohio

November 16, 2016 By artperiscope in Exhibitions Tags: Abstract Painting, burlap, contemporary art, Contemporary Painting, Female artists, female painters, Hammond Harkins Galleries, India, Indian American painters, Kaveri Raina, painters, Painting 3 Comments

Prefer the Past, Acrylic, burlap, 70 x 40 inches

Alchemy is occurring at Hammond Harkins Galleries in Columbus, Ohio where Kaveri Raina has opened a portal to another world in her magical first solo at the gallery.

Prefer the Past (detail)

Kaveri, a native of New Delhi, spent part of her childhood in India before relocating to the United States in 2000, and the works on display at Hammond Harkins reflect that dual sense of place. But it would be a disservice to Ms. Raina to say the canvases merely straddle two worlds; They create new ones. By fusing her connections with India, it’s traditions, colors, textures and mythology with a contemporary approach to painting Ms. Raina re-interprets centuries of tradition with fresh eyes, synthesizing a bridge between past and future. The paintings burlap supports, referencing the vessels that transported the rice and staples of her youth and the humble textiles of the marginalized become transportive vessels of another sort under Kaveri’s skillful hand. Painting from both the back and front of the support and using the burlap’s rugged, tactile transparency, Ms. Kaveri evokes the push and pull of past and present, the ephemeral and the visceral, the seen and unseen, the forgotten and the remembered. Her use of overlapping mythical forms, staining of surface and lush layered color further envelope the viewer in a landscape of dreams and memory, awakening the senses and catapulting the viewer from the temporal realm into the sensual beyond.

Gallery view from entrance

Walking Around, Acrylic, oil pastel, burlap, 60 x 48 Inches

From left: Shy Around and Prefer the Past

Shy Around, Acrylic, burlap, 60 x 48 Inches

From Right: Will I Be Missed (Future), Overthrow Slightly and Stray Delight

Will I Be Missed (Future), Acrylic, dye, burlap, 70 x 40 Inches

Overthrow Slightly, Acrylic, dye, burlap, 70 x 40 Inches

Stray Delight, Acrylic, burlap, 70 x 40 inches

From right: Forgotten Pleasures, Shy In, Hanuman Mukut and Will I Be Missed

Forgotten Pleasures, Acrylic, dye, burlap , 70 x 40 inches

Forgotten Pleasures (Detail)

Shy In, Acrylic, burlap, 60 x 48 Inches

Hanuman Mukut

Will I Be Missed, Acrylic, dye, burlap, 70 x 40 inches

For more information about Hammond Harkins Galleries and Kaveri Raina please check out their websites at:

http://www.hammondharkins.com

http://www.kaveriraina.com

Agnes Martin at Los Angeles County Museum of Art

July 29, 2016 By artperiscope in Exhibitions Tags: #abstraction, Abstract Painting, Agnes Martin, art, bridge artists, Female artists, female painters, LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, minimalism, Painting 10 Comments

Mid-Winter, c. 1954, Oil on Canvas

I had always drifted on the periphery of Agnes Martin fandom. But truth be told I had never seen more than one or two of her canvases at a time and they were mostly later paintings. So my understanding of Martin and her work was the art knowledge equivalent of cocktail chatter. Quick sound bites and surface sheen but very little substance. That all changed during my recent visit to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s steller showing of Martin’s work.

From left: Mid-Winter, Untitled 1955 & Untitled 1954

I’m not a religious person by any means, but I’d be downplaying my experience at this exhibition if I’d didn’t at least in some way state that I felt like I’d been to church by the time I’d left. Not in a sacred “smells and bells” churchy type way, but in a more secular introspective reverent one. I arrived very early at LACMA and was the first into the galleries. I spent at least 20 minutes completely alone. Me and Agnes. And something happened. What occurs when one has the luxury of silence these days and the luxury too of being alone with a large collection of an artists oeuvre is transformative. Listening to the work becomes easier. One’s observational sense becomes keener. It felt as if Agnes and I were having a conversation; a really substantial one at that. And I found myself roaming from room to room, tears spilling down my cheeks.

Untitled c. 1955, Oil on canvas, 83.8 x 134.6

It’s cliché to say great work makes the viewer feel something. In a sense it does, but I believe great work does something much more significant. Truly transcendent work creates a form of communion, not just within the triangle of artist, artwork and viewer, but it charges the viewer with a type of abstract otherness. It connects us to the beyond. Opening a portal of pure feeling. And for that I am thankful.

Untitled c. 1955 , Oil on canvas, 118.1 x 168.3

This exhibition was organized by the Tate Modern in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. The exhibition continues from now until September, 11 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art before opening at the Guggenheim Museum in New York on October, 7. For more information about LACMA and this exhibition please check out the LACMA website. http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/agnes-martin

From left: Beach, 1957 and Harbor No. 1, 1957

Beach, 1957,Oil on canvas

Beach (detail)

Harbor No. 1, 1957, Oil on canvas, 126.3 x 101.6

From left: Untitled 1958 and Untitled c. 1957

Untitled 1958, Oil on canvas, 165.1 x 165.1

Untitled c. 1957, Oil on canvas, 86.4 x 86.4

From left: Heather 1958, The Heavenly Race (Running) c. 1959, Desert Rain 1957, Untitled 1959

Heather 1958, Oil on canvas, 177.8 x 177.8

The Heavenly Race (Running) c 1959, Oil on canvas, 30.5 x 90.2

Desert Rain 1957, Oil on canvas

Untitled 1959, Oil paint and Ink on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5

Rain (Study) 1958, Oil on canvas, 63.5 x 63.5

Untitled 1958, Oil on canvas, 60 x 60

Burning Tree 1961, Wood and metal 33 x 53.3

Buds c. 1959, Oil on canvas, 127 x 127

From left: Untitled 1960, Untitled 1962, Little Sister 1962 and The Islands 1961

The Islands 1961

The Islands 1961 (Detail)

Little Sister 1962, Oil paint, ink and brass nails on canvas and wood, 25.1 x 24.2

Little Sister 1962 (Detail)

Untitled 1962, Oil on canvas mounted on board with nails, 24.8 x 24.8

Untitled 1960, Oil on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5

Islands No. 4 c. 1961, Oil on canvas, 37.8 x 37.8

Brown Composition 1961, Oil on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5

From left: Horizon 1960, Untitled 1960 and Untitled 1960

Horizon 1960, Oil on canvas, 38.1 x 38.1

Untitled 1960, Oil on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5

Untitled 1960, Oil on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5

From left: Falling Blue 1963 and A Grey Stone 1963

Falling Blue 1963, Oil on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

Falling Blue 1963 (Detail)

A Grey Stone 1963, Oil on canvas, 190.5 x 190.5

A Grey Stone 1963 (Detail)

White Stone 1964, Oil and graphite on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

White Stone 1964 (Detail)

Adventure 1967, Acrylic paint and graphite on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

Adventure 1967 (Detail)

Small works on paper

Aspiration 1960, Ink on paper, 28 x 24

Aspiration 1960 (Detail)

Balconies/Galleries 1962, Ink on paper, 22.9 x 22.9

Balconies/Galleries 1962 (Detail)

Weeds 1963, Ink and watercolor on paper, 22.9 x 22.9

Weeds 1963 (Detail)

On a Clear Day 1973, Thirty screen prints printed in gray on cream colored japanese paper, each 30.5 x 30.5

On a Clear Day 1973 (Detail)

From left: Untitled #12 1981 and Untitled IX 1982

Untitled #12 1981, Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

Untitled #12 1981 (Detail)

Untitled IX 1982, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

Untitled IX 1982 (Detail)

From left: Untitled #8 1974 and Untitled #4 1975

Untitled #8 1974, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

Untitled #8 1974 (Detail)

Untitled #4 1975, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

From left: Untitled #1 1989 and Untitled #8 1989

Untitled #1 1989, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

Untitled #8 1989, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

From left: Untitled #15 1988 and Untitled #12 1984

Untitled #12 1984, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

Untitled #12 1984 (Detail)

Untitled #14 1977, Ink, graphite and gesso on canvas, 182.9 x 182.9

Untitled #14 1977 (Detail)

Untitled 1978, Watercolor and ink on paper, 22.9 x 22.9

From left: Affection 2001 and Gratitude 2001

Affection 2001, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4

Gratitude 2001, Acrylic on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4

Blessings 2001, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4

Blessings 2001 (Detail)

From left: Untitled #12 2002 and Untitled #4 2002

Untitled #12 2002, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4

Untitled #4 2002, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4

The Sea 2003, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4

Philip Guston: Painter 1957 – 1967 at Hauser & Wirth

July 21, 2016 By artperiscope in Exhibitions Tags: #abstraction, Abstract Painting, art, contemporary art, Contemporary Painting, painters Leave a comment

Philip Guston: Painter 1957 – 1967 at Hauser & Wirth, New York covers the pivotal decade in Guston’s career during which the artist broke from abstraction, which made him famous in the 1950’s, and began a return to figuration.. The exhibition, a collection of 36 paintings and 56 drawings, is an absorbing exploration of the journey of process and experimentation that transformed the artist’s oeuvre.

For more information about the exhibition and Philip Guston please check out the Hauser & Wirth website at:

http://www.hauserwirth.com/exhibitions/2722/philip-guston-painter-1957-y-1967/view/

From left: Traveller III, 1959 – 1960 & Painter, 1959, both Oil on Canvas

Painter courtesy of the High Museum of Art, Atlanta

From left: Turn, 1959, Oil on Panel & Turnabout, 1959, Oil on paper mounted on Panel

Turn, 1959, Oil on Panel, 22 5/8″ x 28 1/2″ Private Collection

Turnabout, 1959, Oil on Panel, 22 1/8″ x 30 1/8″ Private Collection

Untitled, c. 1959. Oil on paper mounted on panel, 18 1/8″ x 24 1/8″, Private Collection

Untitled, 1958, Oil on Canvas, 64 1/8 x 75 1/4″, Private Collection

Accord I, 1962, Oil on Canvas, 68 1/8 x 78 1/8″, Private Collection

From Left: Vessel, 1960 and Slope II, 1961, both works Oil on panel

Vessel, 1960, Oil on panel, 30 1/8″ x 21 7/8″, Private Collection

Slope II, 1961, Oil on paper mounted on canvas, 40 1/2″ x 30 3/4″, Private Collection

From left: Portrait I, 1965, Stranger, 1964 and Reverse, 1965 . All works Oil on Canvas

Looking, 1964, Oil on Canvas, 67 7/8″ x 80 1/8″, Private Collection

Painter III, 1963, Oil on Canvas, 66″ x 79″, Private Collection, London

Untitled, 1967 – 1969, 48 Drawings, Charcoal and Ink on Paper, Variable Dimensions, Private Collection

From left: Inhabiter, 1965, May Sixty-Five, 1965 and Afternoon, 1964

May Sixty-Five, 1965, Oil on Canvas, 70″ x 80″, Lewis Family Collection

Afternoon, 1964, Oil on Canvas, 74″ x 80 1/4″, Private Collection

William Perehudoff at Berry Campbell Gallery

November 23, 2015 By artperiscope in Uncategorized Tags: Abstract Painting, art, Berry Campbell, Colorfield Painting, contemporary art, Contemporary Painting, William Perehudoff 1 Comment

I really enjoyed being introduced to William Perehudoff’s beautiful works on display at Berry Campbell Gallery in Chelsea. Perehudoff, a Canadian artist who died in 2013, was one of Canada’s foremost abstract colorfield painters. You can find more information on Perehudoff’s work on the Berry Campbell website and there’s also an interesting interview with the artist on youtube.

http://www.berrycampbell.com/artist/William_Perehudoff%20(Estate)/works/#!1090

Donald Martiny: Gestures at Madison Gallery

July 12, 2015 By artperiscope in Exhibitions Tags: Abstract Painting, color, donald martiny, gesture, paint, Painting, sculptural painting 1 Comment

In a world that is more and more removed and isolated, where finding contact and gesture and movement, both abstract and emotional, is increasingly difficult, Donald Martiny’s expressively lyrical solo, Gestures, at Madison Gallery in La Jolla, California is refreshingly immediate.

Alanic, 2014, Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum, 55 x 44 inches

One is instantly struck by the work’s visceral movement and vibrant color. But it would be too easy to reduce these forms to simply a discussion of color and flow. These enlarged brushlike strokes, formed from polymer and saturated pigment, are visual poems. They are the painterly equivalent of a verbal haiku, deceptively lean, but on reflection as complex and inevitable as breath. The simplified structure allows the viewer to look deeper. The swaths of undulating paint, dotted with glimpses of hidden color and seemingly random trace gesture, draw us closer, enticing us with their history. And the sensual , almost liquid quality of the forms woos us, like the touch of someones hand on bare skin, light but electric, the movement fleeting but the sensation enduring. The touch simple in form but resonant in understanding. That sensation is rare in this world of detachment. But as these paintings attest, and as has been said many times, “the simplest gesture is the most profound.” It is indeed.

http://www.donaldmartiny.com

http://www.madisongalleries.com

Left: Togoyo, 2014, Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum, 68 x 43 inches

Right: Kore, 2015, Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum, 59 x 44 inches

Togoyo, 2014, Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum, 68 x 43 inches

Kore, 2015, Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum, 59 x 44 inches

From left: Kott, 2015, Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum, 88 x 5 inches

Ofo, 2015, Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum. 77 x 3 inches

Weyto, 2014 Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum. 91 x 46 inches

Ngbee, 2015, Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum. 44 x 90 inches

Laua, 2015, Polymer and dispersed pigment on aluminum, 76 x 77 inches

Mike Henderson: Traces of Places at Haines Gallery, San Francisco

July 7, 2014 By artperiscope in Uncategorized Tags: Abstract Painting, Bay Area Artists, gestural, Haines Gallery, Mike Henderson, Post-War Abstraction Leave a comment

Photo Courtesy of Haines Gallery

There’s something exhilarating about Mike Henderson’s new works at Haines Gallery in San Francisco. I love these paintings. They are totemic and tactile; sacred objects almost. They command reflection. It is something about the manipulation of paint and the element of surface and beneath surface that gives these objects a certain breathing magic, like that sense of discovery one has when one opens a box long closed. There is that rush of air from another time that expands and envelopes you and you look and greet history with fresh eyes. These paintings feel like that. They are distinctly modern, but it is hard to place them in an age. They feel nostalgic and foreign and yet strangely familiar. Like excavations of memory, or one’s own history peeled back revealing all the many layers that form the whole.

For more information about Mike Henderson and Haines Gallery please visit their website and check out their Facebook page.

http://www.hainesgallery.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Haines-Gallery/71804775934

There’s also some really terrific video on Mike on KQED.

http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=17526