What Meets the Eye

I like Albers and Morandi—But Not Together

February 17, 2021

…because they are so elegant and so tastefully presented that I keep imagining a living room in shades of ecru with earth-toned pillows. The concept of the curator seems to be that these two painters are compatible: analogous colors, small sizes, [...]

The Drawings of Matt Freedman

November 15, 2020

In performance, Matt drew upside down on a pad he hung around his neck—so generous! rightside up for us. By chance and this is very Freedmanesque if you know what I mean, I read a line or two of “On Grand Strategy” * today at the Strand: [...]

The Interior Life of Gideon Bok

October 12, 2020

Bok is a good painter with a good subject, a classic—his studio, which functions both as a world to observe, a portrait of his family and a metaphor for , perhaps—the contents of his brain. I hope I’ll be forgiven though–during these times, [...]

Gestalt Exercises #4 and the Color Walk

August 28, 2020

Differentiating and Unifying “Try this experiment with a painting you like. Notice the lines and the drawing apart from the objects painted and the colors; for example, trace the outlines of the main figures and observe the pattern they form. [...]

Seph Rodney’s Great Mistakes

July 30, 2020

It’s come to this—reviewing a reviewer’s review of their own reviews. Also Reflecting on the Mistakes I’ve Made as an Art Critic is two months old—maybe more—where does the time go? What’s so good about this metacognitive essay [...]

Quarantine: Gestalt Exercises #3: Attending and Concentrating

May 19, 2020

“For a brief period pay attention to some visual object for example, a chair. As you look at it, notice how it clarifies itself by dimming out the space and objects around it.” * (If you have not read the first two installments and practiced [...]

Quarantine Gestalt Exercises #2: Opposing Forces

April 15, 2020

“Think of some pairs of opposites in which neither member could exist if it were not for the real or implied existence of its opposite.”*. (If you have not read the first installment and practiced Gestalt Exercise #1: Feeling the Actual, read it [...]