A haze of cool colors hovers over and obscures energetic line drawings featuring human figures in Rita Ackermann’s new paintings at Hauser & Wirth Gallery, creating a juxtaposition between painterly gesture and drawing. Titled ‘Mama,’ each painting links in title to a feminine source while channeling an Ab Exp style better known for its male adherents. Simple drawings of circles and an occasional animal add in a child’s touch, further complicating the family relationships alluded to in the paintings. (On view in Chelsea through April 11th).
Rita Ackermann, Mama, Midsummer Night’s Dream, oil, acrylic, and ink on linen, 77 x 65 inches, 2019.
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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