grid paintings - the sort of work that Donald Judd or Joseph Albers made.  In fact I ended up writing a review for both artists when they were combined in a show at the Brooke Alexander Gallery nearly a year ago.  Now, back in the day I would have given such a show a wide berth.  But what caught my interest was a logical combination of two influential artists.  I saw the show, wrote a review and came away with a greater appreciation for each artist then would have been possible had I casually breezed through the exhibition.

The rewards of all this activity have been great and small.  I’ve moderated panel discussions, written catalog introductions to other artists’ shows and in a 6 degrees of separation scenario eventually had my solo exhibition at The Painting Center last fall.  Just as important to me, though, are the informal, less tangible returns.  Often this is found in nothing more then a rich conversation with an informed gallery owner or director covering a variety of art topics including their currently exhibited artist.  Sometimes it’s a studio visit and the opportunity to ask questions of the artist while looking at the art that makes for wonderful experience.  But always, walking around to various galleries and being pleasantly surprised by something is completely worthwhile. For me it’s similar to chipping away at a lot of rock and unexpectedly finding precious stones.

The very first thing you notice about this work is a Rorschach-like symmetry between the right and left sides.  What is so not so obvious is that it is an imperfect symmetry; everything is just a bit off-kilter which you intuit before you see it.  A good example of this is faberge luvas where the lozenge-like white and black forms are not equidistance from the edges. Other contradictions eventually reveal themselves too.  The subject matter seems to reference tribal totems but with a parallel accompanying silliness (which is not

Baker Overstreet, faberge luvas, 2006-2007, acrylic on canvas, 58 x 68 in

Baker Overstreet, purple haze, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 33 x 29.25 in