Abstract painter Barbara Takenaga stakes out new territory in recent works at DC Moore Gallery in Chelsea, introducing compositions dominated by curvy organic shapes (recalling bodies by Gladys Nilsson) and bordered by bright red contour lines. The 12 foot long ‘Two for Bontecou’ features a fragmented circular object with a void at center a la sculptor Lee Bontecou, and appears to combine deliberately rendered forms with Takenaga’s signature change-driven mark-making. Here, in ‘Red Turnout,’ a multi-colored form snakes up from below while a signature explosion of white marks covers the canvas, contributing to this painting’s dynamic impact. (On view through April 27th in Chelsea).
Barbara Takenaga, Red Turnout, acrylic on linen, 70 x 60 inches, 2024.
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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