An installation view of Josh Smith’s exhibition “Emo Jungle” at David Zwirner. His colorful Reaper paintings are the best in the show, our critic says. Credit via David Zwirner.

… Josh Smith… degrades and celebrates his medium through the relentless yet fervent repetition of a selected motif. [He] tends to work fast and a trifle sloppily, until a certain image becomes second nature, a template. This automatism opens the door to incessant variations in brushwork, background and, above all, color… The visual deluge of this terrific if vexatious show meditates on painting as object, performance, psychic communication, pleasure and, yes, salable product.
ROBERTA SMITH

(“New York Art Galleries: What To See Right Now,” NYTimes, 5-16-19)

(c) 2019 JMN