I went to Reyes + Davis Independent Exhibitions on F Street to see Janis Goodman's new show of paintings. Her abstractions were like a cool shady spot to my eyes after too much hot sunshine bouncing off the downtown pavement.
I did make the obvious mental connection to Julie Mehretu's work. However, these felt a little more grounded in personal experience to me, perhaps because of their intimate scale (is it strange to call a 5'x5' painting intimate?) and visible evidence of the artist's hand.
I really appreciate seeing some good abstraction in this town.
***
I also saw Adam de Boer's show at Flashpoint. This is the second of de Boer's shows I've seen in the year I've lived here in DC. He seems to be slowly working some things out, and I noticed a couple of strands of ideas that could become larger parts of his conceptual framework (the same area depicted over time with the same people moving around in it, wonky figuration, figures depicted in a brushy, idealized, Edenesque out of doors). I think he just needs to figure out, beyond subject matter, what he wants to say with his paint.
(image is from Goodman's Exploding Garden series, taken from the artist's website. Original painting is on view in the exhibition and is 60"x60".)
No comments:
Post a Comment