Tag Archives: painting

Detail

Posted on May 13, 2020 by JMN

Hockney has been looking into the mirror since he was a teenager. (Jonathan Jones, “David Hockney: Drawing from Life review — stripping subjects down to their gym socks,” theguardian.com, 2-25-20) [Celia Birtwell] and Hockney have a fond and teasing relationship. … Continue reading →

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Alphabeticalism

Posted on May 5, 2020 by JMN

I once had to choose Arabic or Greek, the sole elective, in a course of study. It made a lot of difference in what I did next. I enthuse time and again over instances of letters lateraled into graven imagery … Continue reading →

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Color in Shadow

Posted on May 3, 2020 by JMN

Jordan Casteel’s paintings come at you. There’s no subordination. They are like a roomful of stories told all at once. One figure hides in his colorful skin; two others iridesce, starkly defined. Sofas riot; a hot mirrored lamp commandeers its … Continue reading →

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Only a Little Too Much

Posted on April 26, 2020 by JMN

Holland Cotter reviewed in February “Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945” at the Whitney Museum of American Art through May 17, 2020. Cotter traces a thread of Mexican art history leading from the “big three” — Diego Rivera, … Continue reading →

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Hunker Work

Posted on April 24, 2020 by JMN

I’m at my dining room table sketching now. And they’re raw sketches. Just a Pilot pen on tracing paper. (Frank O. Gehry) I’ve actually been busy doing drawings similar to one from 2018 called “Anxiety Drawing.” They were black, and … Continue reading →

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Gladys Nilsson

Posted on April 19, 2020 by JMN

You and Jim [Nutt] have a significant collection of work by self-taught artists, such as Martín Ramírez and Joseph Yoakum. What draws you to that kind of work? The work that interests me is by people who have a need … Continue reading →

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Plaited Thorns

Posted on April 13, 2020 by JMN

Before reading the article I scanned this painting as a king and courtier munching a corona-bat monster that has been spitted and roasted. The courtier picks his teeth and licks his fingers while the king gnaws a bone ruminatively and … Continue reading →

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“Painter of Disquiet”

Posted on March 23, 2020 by JMN

Roberta Smith remarks that by a certain point in the show “it becomes clear why [Félix] Vallotton is not considered a first-rate painter. Perhaps he was excessively skilled with too many options at his fingertips.” It struck me as a … Continue reading →

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For Núria

Posted on March 16, 2020 by JMN

Te pongo aquí un cuadro reciente, tonto y burlón, mal logrado por supuesto, de ejecución turbia, hiciera lo que hiciera. Está pintado sobre otro cuadro que hizo tu abuelo, mi papá. El suyo fue un desnudo masculino sentado, visto de … Continue reading →

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Davy’s Grey

Posted on March 9, 2020 by JMN

“Boston’s Apollo” celebrates McKeller’s role in Sargent’s work but does not hide the artist’s racism. In her essay for the exhibition’s catalog, Professor Greene cites racial slurs Sargent used. “He’s an amazing painter — that doesn’t go away,” she said. … Continue reading →

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