Catch it before it's gone! California Minimalism at Zwirner (... & Art Picks!)

February 4, 2010


 

Doug Wheeler's California Minimalism

 

 

The show Primary Atmospheres: Works from California 1960-1970 at David Zwirner is worth a look before it closes this Saturday, February 6th.

 

Differing from New York minimalism in its emphasis on perceptual experience, the work of West Coast minimalists is often characterized by gleaming, candy-colored surfaces (the so-called “finish fetish” aesthetic), or plays upon light and space. This makes for a show that is not only fun to look at, but also required reading for anyone interested in contemporary art --particularly the flashier kind.

 

Perhaps most exciting works are the early James Turrell light installations in the back of the first gallery. Employing light itself as a medium, his works appear to be luminous, three-dimensional forms, though upon closer inspection they are revealed to be empty projections of color. These works are a thrill, especially for anyone who was under-whelmed by the Turrell holograms PaceWildenstein presented back in the fall.

 

Also of note are John McCracken’s highly polished pink and yellow planks, which give physical presence to the colors themselves, as well as Robert Irwin’s dematerializing works, which play upon the eye’s own perceptions of color and shadow.

 

An absolute must-see, especially if it’s a sunny day.

 

Also worth seeing...

 

Chelsea:

  Steve McQueen at Marian Goodman Gallery

  Joseph Beuys at Mary Boone Gallery

  William Eggleston & Diane Arbus at Cheim & Read

  Wolfgang Tillmans at Andrea Rosen Gallery

 

Uptown:

  Ida Applebroog at Hauser & Wirth

  Damien Hirst at Gagosian Uptown

 

 

 

California Minimalism

All photos courtesy of David Zwirner Gallery

 

 

Written by Annie Cross

Equal parts down-home Midwesterner and art world sophisticate, by day Annie can be found in Manhattan, working for the estates of various dead artists.  At night, she’s probably in Brooklyn, shopping for flannel or baking a pie just like her Ma would.


Posted in ART on February 4, 2010 11:00am by Madeline | 0 comments




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