Mirthful critters, absurd clocks, and portal-sized geometric paintings were among the main players in the survey of this mid-career painter. What I admire most about Owen’s work is her daring; Her kittens, monkeys, and pirate ships challenge a conventional understanding of serious contemporary painting. As does her choice to overlay chunky paint on vinyl-printed canvas or add sculptural details like pebbles, latticing, and bicycle wheels to her abstract paintings. These 3-D aspects of her paintings teeter somewhere in between boldness and gimmick, at times feeling overworked or to have too many moving parts. But in contrast to her defiantly playful new work, surprising depth is found in this exhibition in a central room of figurative paintings that explore the history of painting. Here 30 or so pieces, hung in close parlor-style proximity to one another, depict the Bayeux Tapestries, Toulouse Lautrec, flattened shapes reminiscent of Matisse, or painterly Bonnard-like floral marks. Contemporary subjects are also present such as embracing soccer players or loosely painted horses. A bright palette and cartoon animals might, in the hands of a lesser artist, arrive at something sardonic à la Jeff Koons. But what redeems this body of work from its overworked moments is Owen’s rigor in carving out new spaces for paintings to inhabit; Who’s to say a painting can’t be deliberately frivolous, humorous, or mischievous?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think the "self-consciousness" of the show can be expanded upon because this phrase carries both positive and negative connotations. I appreciated Owens' self-consciousness in pushing the limits of the two-dimensional canvas, through false shadows, a false sense of depth, and sometimes literal three-dimensional embellishments. However, I agree that there were many gimmicky elements in her recent works, which could be characterized as being too self-conscious in a negative way. I thought it would be interesting to touch on how Owens progressed into her current childlike, cartoony style. Her older works from college can be viewed as more mature and immaculate, and if it weren't for common themes like spatial depth, they seem to be from an entirely different artist.
ReplyDeleteAs Maddie and Grace have said, there is a self-consciousness in Laura Owen's paintings. She is not trying to persuade or make a societal/political comment, but paint what fascinates her. The childish imagery, colorful globs of paint entertain the artist, an admirable practice in a time of political correctness and minority camaraderie.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that the curation of this survey wasn't addressed in the review as it is my biggest critique of the show. With work in galleries 2 floors apart, paintings lining the top of temporary walls and a series of untitled letter paintings primarily covered by another temporary wall, I left the Whitney feeling like I was missing something.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete*I deleted my previous comment to change some "words"..
ReplyDeleteI agree that her latest works include various and interesting points which can attract audiences. Also these elements make it possible for people to appreciate her works more comfortably. But also I felt that she covered herself through vivid and childish colors and style, I mean it is easy to be recognized that she expressed her happiness, because of her style. However, She might be included her depressed and sadness as well and I felt them through her old paintings which have simpler style. Owens’s bold typography work made me think that audiences need to find her through their own perspective. I means audiences are able to find “her” only when they move.
I personally think self-consciousness is the process of pursuing the purity of art. The goal can be the pursuit of aesthetics or the personal drawing language, but not the social and political purposes. In another word, to paint or do what interests me. For these artworks, the audiences do not necessarily need to understand what the painter’s ideas, just to get personal inspirations. Obviously, Laura Owens mixes painting with pop-culture elements, some of which are printed instead of painting. It's also easy to find so many disconnected elements in her works and seems like her style is constantly changing. As for Laura Owens’s paintings, they are strange, straightforward, illogical and sometimes childish. In my opinion, those works she made is to explore different possibilities and to add randomness to paintings.
ReplyDelete