KAREN WILKIN
At the Galleries
Despite persistent rumo rs that installati o ns, Illultilll edia, and conceptuall y–
based art are all that's wo rth pay ing attenti on to at the end of the I99()s, the
fall season in N ew Yo rk o ffered pl enty o f evidence that we needn ' t write
obi tuari es fo r painting and sculpture just ye t. Qui te the contrary; they
appea r to be flouri shin g. The inaugural exhibiti o n at Eli za beth Harri s
Gall ery's new C helsea space made th e po int clearl y. Entitl ed
A live
alia
Well:
Nell!
Paill/ill,(!,
it bro ught togeth er twenty youn ger arti sts, linked by their
belief in the expressive possibiliti es o f putting pi glll ent o n a fl at surface.
Some were emerg in g talents beginnin g to establi sh th eir reputati o ns , whil e
o th ers were newer
to
the art scene- "abo ut to have their first solo shows,"
th e press rel ease sa id. Th eir work ranged fi-om deadpan rea li sm to brushy
abstrac tion and just about everythin g in between. Mos t wo rks were lll odes t
in size, as is common th ese days, but o th erw ise, diversity was th e rul e. (A
French painter acquaintance in sists that small scale is a po liti ca l declaration ,
not an aes theti c o r prac ti ca l dec isio n . Sh e prides herse lf, she says, o n refu s–
ing " to pollute the planet" w ith large paintin gs; o f course, she makes a
,(!yca /
many small pi ctures and slll okes heavil y, but... )
Some o f the arti sts at Eli zabeth Harri s explo red mo re famili ar territo ry
than o th ers, but on th e whole, their wo rk was se ri ous, ambiti o us, and o ften,
of a hi gh level-enough to reassure anyon e interes ted in paintin g of its con–
tinu ed good health. Among the Ill OS t memo rabl e wo rks was 13ill Smart's
generou sly-scaled, sleek abstra cti on, a fl esh- pink di sc, interrupted by small –
er white di scs, loollling aga illSt a square white ground. At first, the paintin g
seemed straightforward and comprehensibl e, but the tense illlbalan ce o f its
geometri c shapes soon beca lll e ev ident, so that th e apparentl y harmoni ous,
seemingl y stati c pi cture reveal ed itsel f as un stabl e and abso rbing- a sort o f
Pop Z en experi ence. Jane Schi owitz's slllall canV;lS depl oy ing a casuall y
drawn grid , rather like a stretched fi shnet aga inst a loosel y brushed burnt
sienna ground , also made its presence fel t. The illlage was no t parti cularl y
unexpec ted, but Schi owitz's subtl e Ill odubti on o f surface and her elllphasis
on process in the fo rlll o f visibl e pentilll enti , bl urring, and co lor shifts wi th–
in her flu ent drawing made th e littl e pi cture engag ing and rewarding. Julian
Hatton's vigoro usly brushed, loose-j o inted landscape, w ith its sa turated hu es
and exuberant evoca ti on o f growth and li ght-oddl y relllini scent o f bo th
German Expressioni sm and th e ea rl y years of Alll eri can lll oderni sm-was
