Ruminations in black
At VSC I finished a series of black paintings that I had been working on for months. I have one more large scale black work on paper that I am finishing now, which is approximately 40x60. All of these works will be on view at my solo show, Penumbra, at the Watchung Center for the Arts in April this year.
This is my first time working this large and in all shades of black. I started thinking about a black series after the loss of a friend last summer. As I started working on the series I remembered an exhibit I attended at the Guggenheim in 2008. The show was of a series of Ad Reinhardt's black paintings, one of which had been recently "dissected" with a new laser treatment specially formatted for colorfield paintings. Article here: Ad Reinhardt.Though some may say the paintings express nothing but the purity of form and color I couldn't help but be struck by the sense of emptiness that was contained within them.
Black work isn't a new subject by any means, but it seems to be a reoccurring palette. Joanne Mattera, artist, curator, blogger and author of " The Art of Encaustic Painting", noted in her blog of recent trends towards black at the Miami Art Fair this year, Joanne Mattera. Even more recently I was able to attend Byron Kim's exhibit of black paintings at James Cohan Gallery. Byron's paintings are his memories of the night sky. This took me back to the night skies that were represented in the Cathedrals throughout Tuscany. There is something about the vastness of black that seems to embody notions of existence, space and time.
Below Ad Reinhardt in his studio, a UV before and after photograph of Reinhardt's damaged painting, a view of the Rothko chapel, Byron Kim Untitled (for S. M), Byron Kim Untitled (for E. T), a view of the Cathedral of Sienna and Anima 2 and Anima 3 from my recent black series, 30x30, wax, graphite and pastel.
