Contributed by Paul Laster / A painter of poetic pictures, Sylvia Naimark explores the enigmatic realm of the imperceptible in her otherworldly works on canvas and wood at Nancy Margolis Gallery. Working in a mutable manner, which she aptly calls “intuitive yet controlled,” the Swedish artist makes shadowy paintings that are both figurative and abstract, … read more… “Sylvia Naimark: The enigmatic realm of the imperceptible”
Author: Editor
Finding shelter at ArtYard
Contributed by Robin Hill / Our personal narratives are inextricably entwined with what the philosopher Gaston Bachelard refers to as The Poetics of Space. His work contemplates the spaciousness of consciousness one experiences in relation to architectural space, real or imagined, and the indispensability of shelter to life. Without shelter, we are what Bob Dylan aptly … read more… “Finding shelter at ArtYard”
Interview: Julie Heffernan talks about writing her first graphic novel
Contributed by Rebecca Chace / Julie Heffernan is primarily known for her large-scale figurative paintings that seamlessly merge a rococo sensibility with contemporary content. Since “Hunter Gatherer,” her 2018 solo show at PPOW in New York, she has been working on her first graphic novel, fusing drawing with memoir and narrative. We recently sat down … read more… “Interview: Julie Heffernan talks about writing her first graphic novel”
The stories we choose to tell: “Fall Reveal” at MoMA
Contributed by Laurie Fendrich / The Museum of Modern Art’s “Fall Reveal” marks the second phase of the museum’s re-telling of the story of Modern Art (the first phase opened in October, 2019), and there are big changes. First, with its $450 million expansion adding 47,000 feet of exhibition space, this new MoMA is a … read more… “The stories we choose to tell: “Fall Reveal” at MoMA”
Maeve D’Arcy paints the passage of time
Contributed by Patrick Neal / Taking in the paintings of Maeve D’Arcy, currently on view at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, I kept thinking of the defunct movie rental store Kim’s Video that had long occupied Manhattan’s East and West Villages. These places were legendary repositories of arthouse films, and D’Arcy’s malaphoric titles hint at cinema, … read more… “Maeve D’Arcy paints the passage of time”
Two Coats Year-end Fundraising Campaign, 2020
Now that the presidential election is over and 2020 is drawing to a close, we have begun our annual year-end fundraising campaign. Two Coats of Paint began publishing in 2007, and this past year, thanks to your generous tax-deductible contributions and ongoing support from our advertisers, social media services clients, and the Two Trees Cultural Space Subsidy Program, we have … read more… “Two Coats Year-end Fundraising Campaign, 2020”
Austin Lee’s muscular blankness
Something there badly not wrong –Samuel Beckett, Worstward Ho Contributed by David Humphrey / The spinning rainbow symbol interrupts our screen time. Buffered and helpless, we pause with the device to wait, perhaps to sink back into our thoughts or to drift into another task. That rainbow, called by some “the wheel of death,” is … read more… “Austin Lee’s muscular blankness”
Rob Ventura’s germy expressionism
Contributed by Patrick Neal / In earlier paintings, artist Rob Ventura explored the anatomical and cellular characteristics of toxic flowers – a menacing subject that would lead to a parallel interest in the structures of disease-causing microorganisms. Ventura had completed new paintings centered on viruses, fungi and bacteria in the early months of 2020, and … read more… “Rob Ventura’s germy expressionism”
Vida Americana: A grand hemispheric embrace
Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / The Trump administration has tried to physically cordon off Mexico from the United States, and presumably would just as soon exclude the country from America’s cultural orbit as well. From that perspective, the Whitney’s judiciously conceived exhibition “Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art” is also slyly defiant. Most immediately, … read more… “Vida Americana: A grand hemispheric embrace”
Art and TV: Professor T, an extraordinary burst of mind
Contributed by Laurie Fendrich / Boy did the otherwise on-the-mark Guardian television critic Lucy Mangan get it wrong. In her 2017 review of the Flemish detective series Professor T, she dismissed the show as “thin gruel” with “morsels pilfered from the greats” (by which she meant such television shows as House, Sherlock, Morse, and Monk). … read more… “Art and TV: Professor T, an extraordinary burst of mind”