Tag: color

Roxa Smith at C24 Gallery

Pattern and color are the last words in Roxa Smith’s lively paintings of imaginary interiors at C24 Gallery in Chelsea.  Smith, who grew up in Venezuela and moved to New York in the 90s, explains that as a child, family trips exposed her to colonial towns and indigenous and folk art that have influenced her current aesthetic.  Already drawn to interiors, she became devoted to the subject after visiting an exhibition of Matisse’s painting at the National Gallery in Washington DC.  Uplifting, lively and engaging, Smith’s paintings offer a moment of pure pleasure.  (On view in Chelsea through March 11th.)

Roxa Smith, Gated Sanctuary, oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches, 2016.

Amelia Toledo at Nara Roesler Gallery

After debuting its new Chelsea gallery space with a tantalizing series of two-week long exhibitions, Brazilian gallery Nara Roesler continues to impress with a career-survey exhibition of gorgeous work by the late Amelia Toledo.  Inspired by the participatory nature of Neo-Concrete art and a devotion to nature and the possibilities of color, Toledo’s multifarious career included installations consisting of hanging jute panels like this ‘Path of color.’ (On view through April 17th. Masks and social distancing required).

Amelia Toledo, Paths of color, 38 pieces of painted jute, c. 100 x 177 x 177 inches, 1999-2000.

James Welling in David Zwirner Gallery’s On-Line Viewing Room

Titled ‘Pathological Color,’ James Welling’s on-line exhibition of photography at David Zwirner Gallery assaults the senses with intense color contrasts generated by the artist’s experimental practice in Photoshop.  This detail of a photo by Welling from New York Art Tours’ archives features images of dancers layered with modernist buildings and landscapes, each suggesting performance on a different kind of stage.   Aiming to explore our perception of color, Welling draws on ‘pathologies’ described by Goethe, who considered the impact of particular colors on the senses.  For more images, including early examples of his technique, visit David Zwirner Gallery’s on-line Viewing Room.

James Welling, detail of 7809, inkjet print, 42 x 63 inches, 2015.

Jennifer Guidi at Gagosian Gallery

With galleries and museums shut down, what are artists doing these days?  Jennifer Guidi’s recent Instagram posts show her doing what she always does – logging hours in the studio.  This image from her now-shuttered show at Gagosian Gallery ponders the impact and attraction of color and form.  Originally inspired by a diagram illustrating Goethe’s color theory, Guidi was also influenced by Austrian naturalist Ignaz Schiffermuller’s color wheel, remaking here it as a painting that dominates one of Gagosian’s huge walls.  It’s her meticulous mark-making, however, that has generated such excitement over her work.  Here, two Instagram posts demonstrate the repetitive processes underlying Guidi’s work.

Jennifer Guidi, Your Colors Are Eternal (Schiffermuller), sand, acrylic and oil on linen, 144 x 2 ½ inches, 2019.

Antonio Santin at Marc Straus Gallery

Marc Straus Gallery nods to Mark Rothko’s hovering, painted rectangles of color and Josef Alber’s nests of colored squares on canvas, but the real attraction to Spain-born, New York-based artist Antonio Santin’s paintings is the fact that they’re painted at all.  Resembling tapestries, Santin’s amazing abstract paintings are made with oil paint in a variety of patterns that suggest a 3D surface with something hidden beneath.  (On view on the Lower East Side through Oct 16th).

Antonio Santin, Apana, oil on canvas, 70.8 x 78.7 inches, 2018.