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Robert Mangold, Angled Ring 1, 2011, acrylic and pencil on canvas, 96 x 96 inches; at Pace through May 3
An afternoon of gallerygoing in Chelsea last week turned up a raft of art with a strong central concept. I saw paintings that draw your eye to the center, defined by their negative space, like Robert Mangold's superb constructed geometries at Pace; or a to-the-point focus, like Roy Dowell's tribalesque compositions at Lennon Weinberg; or the wrought iron mandala at The Curator Gallery, whose construction was surely a meditation in process; as well as paintings whose formalism is redolent of the beauty and balance of tantric geometry, even as they are sprayed, glued, or constructed drop by drop.
Above: From the front gallery (with Angled Ring 1 at my right shoulder)
Below: In the back gallery looking toward the front
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Roy Dowell, Untitled #1057, 2014, 52 x 40 inches; at Lennon Weinberg through May 3
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John Bisbee, Cyclonaut #1, 2014; hammered, bent, welded 12-inch spikes installed on the wall; at The Curatory Gallery
The exhibition, Second Nature: Abstract Art from Maine, was curated by Mark Wethli. The show has ended, but you can learn more about it here
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Julia Bland, Easy Morning, 2013, oil, canvas, silk, wool and linen yarns, 84 x 86 inches; at Asya Geisberg Gallery through May 10
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Gregory Hayes, Shooting Star at Nancy Margolis Gallery, through May 17
Detail above of the painting at right below
