One ambiguous figure appears to break into multiple forms in Amy Sillman’s irresistible ‘Split 3,’ shifting to the side as if to walk off the canvas. Dominant yellow, green and red colors draw the eye back into the painting’s depths but thick, dark horizontal lines of paint block the viewer’s journey. Coming and going, inviting and refusing, in motion yet static, the contradictions in the canvas reward pondering. (On view in Chelsea at Gladstone Gallery through Nov 14th.)
Amy Sillman, Split 3, acrylic and oil on linen, 72 x 60 inches, 2020.
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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