New York Interlude Part III: Raphael Rubinstein's Reinventing Abstraction

There are a lot of things to love about this show--the exquisite placement of works, the perfectly proportioned galleries, the knowing title taken from a review of Stephen Mueller by Carrie Moyer, the amount of talent, intelligence and thoughtfulness invested by artists and curator alike--as well as the pleasure of revisiting works seminal to artistic development in the '80s.

Jonathan Lasker--once shockingly dissonant, now harmonious though the ideas are still present and viable.

David Reed detail--the variety within economical means astounds.

A very close detail of Reed's painting. Two down for a full view of this painting.

Pat Steir's precursor to waterfalls. I love seeing the work develop over time.

Left, Mary Heilman, right, David Reed in a gorgeous pairing. Look at Reed's white edge, acting as its own color.

Louise Fishman--a beauty, 25 x 22.

Detail.

Stephen Mueller, detail. Various textures and blank canvas not unlike works made today.

The strangest example of a Mueller I've seen--the later work more refined and coherent within its disparity.

Thomas Nozskowski

Gary Stephan

Detail, Stephan

Joan Snyder's lavish surface

Weirdness! incised incisions.

Textural joy

Jack Whitten

Stanley Whitney! An exciting surprise--the backstory to his current grids...

To be able to see the work develop over time is one of the greatest payoffs of this show.

Terry Winters

I used to dream of painting paintings like these

The hand so delicate, while slathering it on.

Carroll Dunham, seen from now, nascent vision

I first saw Bill Jensen's work at the Phillips Collection. Its arc is as radical and thrilling as Stanley Whitney's.