February 5, 2012

The February art section in The Brooklyn Rail is dedicated exclusively to painting. "Because we believe it is necessary periodically to take the pulse of painting, we propose in this issue to use diverse forms of criticism to examine what one can see this month in New York City," guest art editor Vincent Katz writes in his introduction, "We are using painting here not exclusively but rather inclusively, as symbolic of the creative act."

Katz asked for 200-300 word posts about painting exhibitions, and so I contributed this short blurb that compares Lois Dodd's observational paintings to On Kawara's date project at Zwirner.

Lois Dodd’s great gift as a painter is her ability to pose complex questions without seeming to try. In this exhibition of small oil on board works, she paints the familiar surroundings of her home in Maine, depicting ordinary things like snow on a windowpane, laundry on the clothesline, or a puff of Queen Anne’s lace. She focuses intently on the visual, simplifying form, interpreting color, and organizing space. Dodd is an unselfconscious version of On Kawara, the artist who has famously been painting dates for over 40 years...

Read More at The Brooklyn Rail

On Kawara, installation view at David Zwirner

Lois Dodd, Echinacea, 2011, oil on masonite, 18 1/8 x 15 3/4 inches

I haven't finished reading the whole issue, but here are links to the other articles. And, good news: Robert Storr has agreed to serve as guest editor for the next issue.

DAVID DRISKELL Creative Spirit: Five Decades by Bridget Goodbody
DAINA HIGGINS New Paintings by Charles Schultz
LOIS DODD New Panel Paintings by Sharon Butler
Unlikely Friends: JAMES BROOKS & DAN FLAVIN by Greg Lindquist
DAMIEN HIRST The Complete Spot Paintings 1986 – 2011 by Corina Larkin
LORI ELLISON by Corina Larkin
GEORGES HUGNET The Love Life of the Spumifers by Valery Oisteanu
Dark Christmas by Bradley Rubenstein
ELLSWORTH KELLY Schwarz & Weiss by David Rhodes
MALCOLM MORLEY Another Way to Make an Image, Monotypes by Robert Storr
Five Works from the Collection of Albert Murray: ROMARE BEARDEN and NORMAN LEWIS by Charles Schultz
THE RONALD S. LAUDER COLLECTION: Selections from the 3rd Century BC to the 20th Century / Germany, Austria, and France by Charles Schultz
Anonymous Tantra Paintings by Noah Dillon
SANGRAM MAJUMDAR
New Work by Kara L. Rooney
GUDMUNDUR THORODDSEN Father’s Father by Paolo Javier
SOTO Paris and Beyond,
1950 – 1970 by Cora Fisher
JESS Paintings by Phong Bui
GEORGE MCNEIL by Robert Berlind
VICTOR MATTHEWS by Vincent Katz
LOLA MONTES SCHNABEL Love Before Intimacy by David Markus
THOMAS WOODRUFF The Four Temperament Variations by Kara L. Rooney
MARTHA CLIPPINGER Hopscotch by Robert Berlind
PETER GALLO by Jonathan Goodman
Connected by Noah Dillon
KANDINSKY's “Painting with White Border” by Susan Bee
BARBARA SANDLER Straight On Till Morning by Robert Berlind
December (Organized by Howie Chen) by Nathan Kernan
EDWIN DICKINSON In Retrospect by Robert Berlind
JOSÉ RIVERA by Nathan Kernan
REMBRANDT’S WORLD: Dutch Drawings from the Clement C. Moore Collection by Sara Christoph
JOSEPH MONTGOMERY Velveteen by Linnea Kniaz
The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini by Mira Schor
BOSCO SODI Ubi Sunt by Jonathan Goodman
DOUG WADA Americana by Lilly Wei
Mind the Gap by Anne Sherwood Pundyk
BILL JENSEN by Ben La Rocco
WITHIN/WITHOUT: A Studio Visit With SHOSHANA DENTZ by Zachary Wollard
SUSANNA HELLER’s Studio by Robert Berlind
STUDIO VISIT: JOYCE PENSATO by William Corwin
Making American Taste: Narrative Art for a New Democracy by Shane McAdams
Letter from BERLIN by David Rhodes
JOSEPH MARIONI Eye to Eye by Robert C. Morgan
GORDON MOORE by Joan Waltemath
Master Bill at MoMA by Irving Sandler

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"Lois Dodd: New Panel Paintings," Alexandre Gallery, New York, NY. Through February 18, 2012.