Dona Nelson "In Situ: Paintings 1973 - Present"
Thomas Erben Gallery
This event has ended.
In this survey exhibition of paintings by Dona Nelson, Thomas Erben Gallery revisits and reconsiders the motivations of an artist widely regarded as one of the most vital, intellectually considered, agressively tactile and physically inventive American painters of her generation. This is Nelsons's second exhibition with the gallery following her critically acclaimed solo, Brain Stain, in 2006.
The trajectory of Nelson's artistic development is as multi-faceted as it is focused. A true 'painter', her insistance on the primacy of this art form goes hand in hand with her refusal to slow her exploration of the mediums potential by resting upon a single style or form.
In small-scaled, minimal works from 1973, we see already inclinations in Nelson's work to what is self-described as the 'surreal-real'. In particular No Title, 1976 (reproduced in Heresies, illustrating Nelson's 1977 essay, "Growing up a Painter"), unveils the tension between abstraction and figuration which remains a productive source for the artist to the current day. Doretta, 1983, the only portrait on view, is perhaps the most deceptive, being an evokation of cubism with its concern for two-dimensional space while reimbuing the female figure with a sense of presence and identity
Media
Schedule
from April 24, 2008 to May 31, 2008
Opening Reception : April 24 6-8:30 pm