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4.24.2014

Centering

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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.
 
Installation views of the Mangold show
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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Nichole Van Beek , Oh Hell, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 15 x 15 inches; at Jeff Bailey Gallery through May 10
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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