Tag: dona nelson

Dona Nelson at Thomas Erben Gallery

“The hierarchy of the word ‘front’ is so strong…” explained painter Dona Nelson in a recent interview, concisely conveying how rule-breaking it still feels to exhibit paintings in an upright freestanding frame vs wall mounting them.  Her current show at Chelsea’s Thomas Erben Gallery includes two-sided paintings like ‘Early September,’ a canvas that combines a grid system and patterns of dripped lines to play order and chaos against each other.  (On view through April 3rd).

Dona Nelson, Early September, acrylic and acrylic mediums on canvas, 83 x 78 inches, 2020.

Dona Nelson in ‘Painters Reply: Experimental Painting in the 1970s and Now’ at Lisson Gallery

Dona Nelson’s walk around frames turn painting into sculpture, insisting that viewers have access to (and equally value) both front and back.  In ‘Bells,’ blues and greens with a horizontal section of yellow suggest a sunset seen through a window while sections of white canvas deceptively imply transparency.  (On view in Lisson Gallery’s ‘Painters Reply:  Experimental Painting in the 1970s and now through Aug 9th.)

Dona Nelson, Bells, acrylic and acrylic medium on canvas, 80 x 80 inches, 2017.