At a recent opening of my show in Rochester, one relatively sophisticated viewer pointed out that some of the paintings looked like they were by different people. The organic, textured, flowing, hot colored abstract landscape next to three muted, resin coated circles and dots bothered him. Tenerife. 36x72 Specimens 30x30 Not me, though. Having come to painting late, I insisted on spending a few years going through many stages of representational rendering- flowers, fish, fruit, figures- and that’s just the ‘f’s- to prove to myself that I could. When I decided I had captured clouds and sunrises and the sea, I got rid of the horizon line- and I was painting abstractly, which had been my goal all along. Rather than experiment in style pastiche or stages I think I paint in paragraphs. A new idea emerges, it gets done again, different iterations, then I revisit what I had thought was finished. When this essay is finished, I move on. Mark Rothko ...
This month I hosted another writing group created and run by my dear friend Zee Zahava, who brings small groups to the gallery to respond to the current show- not a critique of the work but a response to how the pictures make them feel. It is such a privilege to share in these visions. This is Zee’s short art/fiction story of coming to Ithaca- standing in front her favorite picture of the month. It was late August, 1968, and the drive from our apartment in the Bronx, up to Quarry Dorm in Ithaca, was long. Longer than it would be for any other family. My father was nervous. He had to stop and pee at every rest stop. Also, he had to smoke a cigar, each time we stopped. My mother was unusually quiet. Each time dad got out of the car mom would turn around in her seat to ask if I was okay. I always said that I was. But was I? I had no idea. I was bundled into the back seat with my guitar, my new electric typewriter, a not-very-good record player, and all my albums: Joni, L...
Red has always been one of my favorite colors, and I've been going to town lately. One is under resin which really makes it pop, but the completely inked painting also makes a statement. Trying to push winter away, I guess.
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