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Adrienne Farb at the Lohin Geduld Gallery,
531 West 25th Street to June 5th |
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At first glance these paintings are comparable to Morris Louis. The obvious similarities are the vertical bands of thinly painted bright color. Although the artist confesses a relationship between her work and Louis (and also Barnett Newman) the comparison quickly fades. Louis�s work was comparatively more reductive, more centered and more evenly proportioned. Farb�s paintings are far more sensual and pulsate with a capricious visual rhythm where the subject matter, as presented in the multicolored loops of paint, suggests organic forms ranging from micro to macro-biology. |
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Look at Those Cool September Mornings No 7 and how the forms seem to be falling on each other in a bunch to the right. A soft blue and transparent green form elegantly carry the left side of the canvas and their crossed arrangement is echoed in orange and red shapes to the immediate right. Two dark blue forms and a black one help to anchor the piece and a mass of thin multicolored |
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Adrienne Farb, Amor Sacro e Profano No 2, 2003, oil on linen, 26 x 41 in |
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bands pull together in an understated squeeze. In this piece, as in all her work, Farb not only varies her color but also the focus of the forms which is blurred or sharp by turns. This accomplishes two things; the first is to address the aforementioned visual rhythm. The second is to break up the space of the picture plane as the forms appear to shift in and out. The latter is accomplished by varying the size of the forms but more so through atmospheric perspective; i.e., the application of sharp and blurred focus. Another significant part |
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