Against a hazy, apocalyptic landscape, two conjoined heads rise from a spindly stalk of a neck in this painting by Glenn Brown at Chelsea’s Gagosian Gallery, their downward facing gazes suggesting the demure demeanor of women meant to be looked at. The noir-romantic landscape and the women’s postures and youthful European features are recognizable from western art history. But self-consciously constructed in individual brushstrokes of multicolored paint, they forgo the illusion of reality. Positioned half in shadow, half in light, one with a halo, one without, Brown both withholds and illuminates their identities in a way that suggests constant morphing. (On view in Chelsea through Dec 23rd).
Glenn Brown, We’ll Keep on Dancing Till We Pay the Rent, oil on panel, 78 ¾ x 55 ½ inches, 2022.
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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