Sunday, October 6, 2013

Geometry and Strange Fish at the Drawing Center

Sean Scully, Untitled, 1975. Acrylic & tape on paper, @23x31". Courtesy Neo Neo York, Inc.

The Drawing Center's two exhibitions, through November 3, offer a satisfyingly balance of minimal and baroque. Changes and Horizontals, a series of studies and paintings by Sean Scully features grids of horizontal and vertical stripes. Of particular interest are areas where the stripes overlap, the increasing density of certain quadrants or thirds, the subtle palette consisting primarily of greys and rusts. Some typewriter drawings are also on view, a rare look at Scully, a master of geometry, dabbling in text.  
Alexis Rockman, Study for Tiger Vision (19 TV Bio Fish), 2011, gouache on black paper, 9 x 12"
The rear and lower galleries contain drawings primarily of sea creatures by Alexis Rockman, done for Ang Lee's Oscar winning film The Life of Pi. Rockman's naturalist studies have been a fixture on the art scene for years, but these came as a surprise as I was unaware that he had been involved in the blockbuster. These striking gouaches pop as if lit with black light, featuring critters of neon hues with exotic embellishments. 

Alexis Rockman, Study for Tiger Vision (7 TV), 2011, gouache on black paper, 9 x 12"

A video in the downstairs gallery shows an amazing sequence in which a whale breaks apart into a dozen animals, which swim away. A couple of talks with Rockman about the works are scheduled: The Animal Vision (Oct 17), and Conversation on The Life of Pi (Oct 29).

No comments: