(An Appropriate Distance)

FROM THE MAYOR'S DOORSTEP

By Piri Halasz

Report from the Front
Art criticism, sometimes with context, occasional politics. Published in hard copy 2-4 times a year. New shows: "events;" hard copy rates & how to support the online edition: "works."

EBULLIENT HOFMANN AT MILES McENERY

January 16, 2022

"Hans Hofmann: Chimbote Murals," Miles McEnery Gallery, 520 West 21st Street, New York, NY, 9 December 2021 to 29 January 2022, Photo courtesy Miles McEnery Gallery.

There is something so wonderfully happy about the paintings of Hans Hofmann (1880-1966). (This is true even when they're not perfect, which is often the case.) So if you want to forget about the Omicron variation for a few moments, and enjoy life to the fullest extent currently possible, I highly recommend heading to the Miles McEnery branch at 520 West 21st Street to take in "Hans Hofmann: Chimbote Murals" (through January 29). Don't worry about getting infected by the crowd: Hofmann was a straight white Northern European male, which means he is way out of style just at present. Talk about extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds. Read More

1 Comments

PORTRAIT OF AN EXHIBITION ON 57TH STREET

July 10, 2018

Tags: Gene Davis, Hans Hofmann, Cleve Gray

Hans Hofmann ( German, 1880-1966), The Climb, 1960. Oil on board, 84 x 48 inches.

Beginning all over again, I am going to review a most remarkable & welcome exhibition at the Manhattan venue of Cavalier at 3 West 57th Street. The show is entitled “57th Street: America’s Artistic Legacy – Part I.” As nearly as I can tell, both its sculpture and more importantly its paintings were selected and hung by Ron Cavalier, co-founder and president of the gallery. This show opened on June 15th, and I am going to review what I saw when I visited it on Saturday, July 20th. Read More

4 Comments

Comments

Jul 27, 2018 5:44 AM EDT

I am so sorry that I missed this show! I await to hear more from you. I enjoy the deliciousness of your words: "Greenbergiana" (and in the Fall 2017 edition of your newsletter, "Pollockian"). I understand you are now a storyteller. I hope I can make it to your next performance (is that the right word)? Maybe you will be at the Moth soon!

- Cara London

Jul 27, 2018 12:01 PM EDT

Thank you so much for all the nice compliments. I don't know what "story telling" is or what or where is "the Moth." Would you care to enlighten me & spare me the trouble of looking these things up via google? I hope it's a long time before I have to stand up and talk again. It was all very good for my ego to have people applauding what I'd said but I got paid zilch for this last talk -- the only money I made was selling 5 copies of "A Memoir of Creativity" at $20 a pop. If you know anybody who would like me to talk & is willing to pay me for it, by all means tell that person to get in touch with me. On another subject, I understand that you are currently working in many different media. I have no immediate reaction to this information, but maybe if you post something about it here, other people would weigh in and offer opinions based on far more experience than I have....

- Piri Halasz

Jul 31, 2018 1:55 PM EDT

Dear Cara, I am still waiting for you to tell my readers why you want to work in many different media and ask their opinion of your desires. My own feeling that all artists should do what they want to do, and if that means working in a variety of media, they should by all means do it. However, I should add that my own specialties are painting, sculpture, drawing, photography & sometimes graphics. I am so afraid of being categorized as a Jack of all trades, master of none.... therefore, if you want to express yourself (for example) in tapestries, furniture, jewelry or ceramics, the likelihood that I will be reviewing your work diminishes substantially...but that should be no bar to your desires....

- Piri Halasz

Aug 01, 2018 6:42 AM EDT

Dar Piri, As for working in different media, I think about the jack of all trades issue, too. Ultimately, I believe that exploration in pursuit of the highest aesthetic ideals is a worthy endeavor. I'm a painter but I started out as a sculptor. In the last few years, I've spent a lot of time exploring monoprints, then etching, lithography and silkscreen. For me, the tactile and experimental qualities go hand in hand. I’ve mostly stayed within the “fine art” framework. I see it as connected, akin to branches on a tree. Personally, so much comes down to drawing: it's just how I choose to make the marks, be it in two- or three-dimensions, with ink and a press or with oil and acrylic. Abstract or representational, the pendulum swings back and forth. I can’t say that there is one thing or method that defines me, except that the pursuit is to make art that is honest and deep, an expression of our highest ideals. I'm just curious how other artists feel and how critics and gallerists view what may seem like a diverse body of work.

- Cara