Maira Kalman at Julie Saul Gallery

Simple furnishings and pleasing complementary colors in this gouache on paper painting by Maira Kalman recall Van Gogh’s Spartan but intensely colored Arles room. Titled ‘The approach to style is by way of plainness, simplicity, orderliness, sincerity,’ Kalman’s room illustrates a dictate by Strunk and White in their iconic writer’s guide. One of a group of 57 illustrations for ‘The Elements of Style’, published with Kalman’s paintings in 2005,’ it turns writerly concision into a lifestyle. (On view in Chelsea at Julie Saul Gallery through Sept 16th).

Maira Kalman, The approach to style is by way of plainness, simplicity, orderliness, sincerity, gouache, 8 ½ x 12” (image), 2004.