Monday, October 22, 2007

Scrappy

As museums fill in the gaps in abstract expressionism's history we have gotten shows in town proclaiming the ascendancy of minor or forgotten painters. Terry Gilliam sauntered his way through town last spring (the rumor is more people came to the museum and shot straight downstairs for Robert Pruitt's solo exhibit) and now we will be graced by Mary Heilmann and her "deceptively simple, even offhand, approach to painting". What do you think of her paintings? Are they worth the attention? HERE is an article from 1993.


GRAFFITI, 1998


Joaquin's Close Out, 2006


All Night Movie, 1991


Sunday Morning, 1987


21st Century Fox, 1998

Heilmann's work was last in town for the POPulence show at the Blaffer Gallery. Her All Tomorrow's Parties exhibit (HERE) in Vienna is a good approximation of what the CAMH show might look like.

2 comments:

John Hovig said...

Hard to rate. Her work looks like a commentary on other peoples' work. She turned a Rothko it into a sorbet cone in Joaquin's Close Out. But where is she in all this? What's her drive? Is she claiming or reclaiming other art for someone or something else? Is she really just all about making art with lots of candy colors? I'll guess I'll have to wait 'til Nov 3 to find out. From the photos online the big wooden chairs with woven backs look more intriguing than the paintings.

b.s. said...

yeah, i wondered if that was part of the installation or the museum...