Since the 1993 Whitney Biennial when Kerry James Marshall showed large paintings on unstretched tarps of American families in the projects, I've adored his work. I didn't fully understand the reasons why until viewing the comprehensive retrospective Mastry. The exhibition infuses me with the pure state of inspiration that comes from well-honed visual thinking, a transmission of power from hand to eye that surges through the works in the show and sends the artist back to the studio post-haste.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6pzv4bfugpPrs8M9DeZH0wqnwPbYUbDs0w1XxeWNMDp9McmIkmYB-Jja1DN3KVxWgNzmxRQ0ShThVlMxTDyrZb6a6ZHnOA_W8hzlg3OpAjf8jpnMfl7xKmieNycM_2pSvNerS/s320/IMG_0021.jpg) |
Crowds admiring the unstretched tarp paintings from the mid-1990s at Mastry.
Exhibition Link |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIyRYXS-fi8rBrdVUVho5BuCtuLoa_RADR0N84O0mBEGZw9mtJAilhIuB-6UlQyQqenTs0H-kMxvmZeJwtGT6QMDA2L1zxOSOzvbnC1LquA4c9io7Vy9RhQa8DZTjB_8OhdzD/s320/IMG_9928.jpg) |
From 2014, some vignettes. Delightfully, Marshall entertains an adolescent girl as one of his personae,
given his penchant for pink hearts and glittery signatures. Or that's my reading, anyway. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTmqX_vDJrU1dpdNd7Q4MMvkEAYUYrPfwCfM2pWHyWgUlbwIJl3fbCjLYeHte0ROHCENP0JPtIcki16mNNdHXSowFKsP7yvugflkYn2swriSlPRRXUbhU8kls2Ay8KZwf7SVa/s320/IMG_9929.jpg) |
Vignette up close: flowers with glitter stamens, a vision close to my heart. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PcsBD5KWbQNB4x4FKnUbvsz9Tk90mKRMbE1ZA_uxFstm03EDY3Hn7JKjTGWbLiFXz04s3LK6lGAfNe7aSfDelvROy54V2E_bTNozNbSs1NdqPVm2fbcE80KZhnqEo9DJbFVl/s320/IMG_9930.jpg) |
These paintings make me feel understood - and I understand them - generational motifs, perhaps, is part of that. But also a privileging of sentiment, overt beauty in imagery perceived in high art as suspect, less than or Other for its decorative rather than structural content. Like much else this is a construct, as we know that flowers can be structural, but in the Modernist grid of New York, the bias remains in visual terms. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkP8iGiZgWvuF2maHvLgs7gqpcJy1aBj4iOLbdVksyjA3OSVCAmxt63XQvLPocK7Bu-cAhguQ2mwzvuEBM4-lKIEJP0k3uLb3f7aV27Sdb7iRbQI13zQhKnOaqAONEKyVPqdMQ/s320/IMG_9931.jpg) |
Graffiti, musical notes, composition from increasing dissonant elements, much like the world, and KJM puts it together. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfSiE2qUGmNhVuLNqhFCy6hGWGLQtXXNMvTAqMe1pr79MeU3NBxFsCeZKOD18gdQ-LReT8RrbmWnKjSjRpZwDjsBsGOSGpfvo9zKSQclz-1A6_iI9raukS5Qe4gnh3Mb2nL6j/s320/IMG_9932.jpg) |
Working the full palette of painting history not to mention pop culture. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WM1c_m-8SQlFJAiEByTChmuS0VPOQ0mSLpGS2AHYoVZHPrrEdMUO0_upUuM1DQRNjPgQFGEuiP4TCpf8Ks05YMOOFdDfqSveNWXqslIzlljPyob-uW1NoCze2pvlpKeTBEiD/s320/IMG_9933.jpg) |
Infused with a healthy graphic sense, bird, flowers and glitter! From 2014. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_alNlnDWFAQK8GLjWyRODtQcEuJNzvTd2yE5O-GDSz1qfAHjhjok2q8_yf35I6JUDp16qyRTdKuXuhqUw8vvPlVdqDomdqpNVmVCHe3KHLwqfXqDVAv0uqbt6LLqXow-3N5Ji/s320/IMG_9934.jpg) |
Large detail of a figure within interior. Beautiful veins of neutrals coursing through deep tones. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ErM8Cu8o35fVr1Bm_dFfx4i43PerMxw6kluwFiTHjHufsivES1SBDhwWcwS6pLGz_cqX9aWc2zHLQZe5hljYINh_5jm7H9eDkpBkszZoHn4A96rOUxxtY2JEJQwPTFxyQRIH/s320/IMG_9935.jpg) |
Here from a larger work, patterns and volumes are slabs, marks and daubs that form bodies in space. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9DjM8rsl4G8wusROQ6RFi8roRs9emKg29hT4QeWQuLTnoD-vGpaSJp29QX8QSDQUXwziV3F39fxvh15DtzgDhhNl1vAgo3Ju9BYHrVzVqtW658A-zR0UHGFrlAJkR8PokVSUT/s320/IMG_9936.jpg) |
Anamorphic perspective, as in Holbein's Ambassadors (1533). Wikipedia_Holbein's Ambassadors. Not the skull of death as that painting, but a cultural whitewash, which the baby ditched his rattle for to investigate. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ifDBO7dKQykGzhJ3Ejkxu5SfygH3-z_TrHgjdVKZTGBI_X9eKvP4YkuabDiNYnh5BqHPes2-_0lDzB_4syD8E0iDIbtPRvYf7tW84Es23ZSjnj3QNeTdRlKOMGHu1CpnAsJX/s320/IMG_9937.jpg) |
Color: the subtle tones of skin and in this instance, surrounded by a bright, loud landscape. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVu5EiWxWBRrCBL1trQ7P3Nvis_6hZGYICUPKVsH4YWi0m9GPuluXjJQ0mv1WtlCOT8OLD4jyvQ5MkplDPR1GX5gnoR3vhyphenhyphenFPhyphenhyphenhntygx4JXwzVmBkcPj2xd8xrEz2yo4tgqBK/s320/IMG_9938.jpg) |
The whole vignette, parts of which were shown above. Circling back. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Vu_sHMrA0gT-1J9AELEmBSOV7LRd7IJHoRVZsxsGUr_fLoOeEMR3btOt45egGV3xrgHPp74G4EjPTQBSqHYHKJOSqQUQRfk9n1TIvOjJ8OYw6agOPOJMsXVMqX0nZicYr_o_/s320/IMG_9939.jpg) |
Japanese prints selected by Marshall from the Met's collection as inspirational sources for his own work. As an aside, he also chose Matisse. What is not to love! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhBVKXR_lL1HmoK5T7oGCIsH-EdC8scArly2ihyIuydU6pOkgxw1qxUkKmE1MrnplOox8w9f50xanLBDpZyTDbhe8RHFrUZaRVEk5r6hAThf0vR7uRIgX2V7jwFTq6AI8r7M0/s320/IMG_9940.jpg) |
The storytelling impulse, the sharp transitions from volume to flat space, the color... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9eQ9TSrEtKyss-p1m2a4tXykMggOIm9l7jpP1LDPw-Jv9s6Vd5mlovTnfzZJsar99OAoBCdMNwlMrqL7kg3gU9Dxv9fhQBjRf632HZ6FsJnvHou1CLVrrccX5PTNZ1B4VtQW/s320/IMG_9942.jpg) |
...gory and graphic, somehow pleasingly arranged |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteHgio7n7HMhNLq_VgKePYnjERFweIDkWmi-CpWvCwLpp2WwTRGYcQXecfuY-Z2UEyQOP819a6mO7WbzIPOB3lF8S7Enz_hVapxBsVCPDWB4I9qImxalNAWcCzOrlrHfObD9s/s320/IMG_9943.jpg) |
A small, Roland Flexner-scale Gerhard Richter, never seen before |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQTO1f969v9J1RfZhRGjMf5yO9OFI1Yu8SkjF-OWKZQEu3rIdxtvk5-4Dmn6MXw_MfB58rrJe2eMOGpPyc7IkOboUBtdBNt93vjc8EYB8Tt0_NG42Eb3S4jhaKxbjDNzVAGU6/s320/IMG_9945.jpg) |
And Ingres' Odalisque in Grisaille, 1824-34. These do provide insight into his oeuvre. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAmYC-U9g3xzDo6UijhY58rtaAA_R3nXjV99zZAfGZku81k0ce2WddJEjYO_Tyned2OkxCJn4mFlSQXgl7e0eBWGQf-ygKZ1a5WQ9II6Z0NPaBPsRIakYwXrYCejHmvKE2uiN/s320/IMG_9947.jpg) |
KJM: earlier work, 1990s |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnBZtGc94b-4z7l8EGEUvnQD_hvdUql3eiCCFOyBwrToK8bDjYbOt06Zzn5WWxhihWAPvjkn05cZgV6fwOImDJWIagyb9G-Inh9HouRz56JIg_7EWGgaxy62W7FSTf8aBI2Hw/s320/IMG_9948.jpg) |
Multiple painting modalities in Renaissance heads and a rawly painted blanket |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yYtx5kpmjLTSPk_1m_32_k7pSkTvLBDwZp4vAgbvVXzczwFK6zK2eXaH5aoy1pA4K12GR5Lz9Jfac0LB_ezfcJJIFTftAN56gvKCpSzI8x-5V0_WuE0R0DS_iKOvRXC3q1jM/s320/IMG_9949.jpg) |
A love painting |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwPCPBSiEiO3bYrTvJ_ihHcvcpH1hA-_n4CmuBCdH70HvJGkt54ov2sbpGHQ5G0M11Tvy9gO-KN3oW-eXEekP87mOMCfDLUVrR2t_Vv4PgtJahGxY031i9Ggi0I5tq2ytoMij/s320/IMG_9950.jpg) |
KJM often paints on paper assembled together as if identity were constructed - also playing against the elegance of his drawing in this self portrait. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOx2TTwhXIBq58PTnGvlzg_s8HdvVRPCz7VzjIfQvdg_S1hetwWyfqHD65_qVFzRP4P27MaR835FUSwq1MB72x9yS4hVc4e_IuP8u5tJO-uqd9vI2Hy8Ek4tY9BQN7rRBUsRy/s320/IMG_9952.jpg) |
More portraits |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nD7aa-nQdDHIeVq6pP1ia7yxmnL4_L5C5G1JyXPmTOcKZ4D0181vMgQNBdpDg1RyShk-jW5zNM74-gLoY7u3M4G3xBg_u0kKah21SXtR0pL6HGl5asI8qf661nF_b-G-dA1G/s320/IMG_9956.jpg) |
A great barbershop painting that greets you on the third floor |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bARgqSbgtiPQzpu0ZOpGJUevfIaBDnMz3kgX70XJhdQUeiWmrSGhqttJj5Z3nEThRHxCZ5sTD-T_KQOF2zmEWbLJZCNFM2p68jCBpUUnY_W8KeOIBOfb4bG_ao8_biTtK8XV/s320/IMG_9957.jpg) |
The detail is meticulous, observance sharp |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEiwR9SjBFwo8AslriAMH8UU-DCvSnDhpHOG-Rwz_2LIHukOjwtue6qfc5XpCABFyzbuBzyVqjI7SNtpfSzhI_z4m9q9lifHkgfI1hk2Bij6ExanBOpP7WFOu-uN5OlWvlutM/s320/IMG_9958.jpg) |
Spaces within space |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0e_pDoBuZnPHVU_WryBSk9dGpEfttfUf-ttEhMGjBvU0K7xTXtqwN12V3yiq31VBlK1t4n9f5FJp-ucZWOKRpDsB37E3gPElF5gEDXMFV4Ob1cbp14GszcrIVbUJvfiyelcW/s320/IMG_9959.jpg) |
Color and shape composing rhythm |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79ChNhPwKWo0IRY9wRyNKDW_akTkSu5lTwDYctcF_CgcH4YKlHWGc2iVxaDyTqFQX4RMsC35wtptnxuhHjFMDPHHXw0qwDZqPIsTSFAHaHR-pDUrAYXWI-9hd1rADplRwjA1P/s320/IMG_9960.jpg) |
Paper flooring on the backbeat, spats up front |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi34ooeOCy21peErcWbySTJkpA7pvj9SG-NDUoeJhnXd-_EeioxNpVk0wLifdwhHTwqL6N5jOy3PwLELd7UC2pJ3Jz8FbmPG5POdcqo-VapdZlQbt3qd5155pu5Anl0lP_Udkw7/s320/IMG_9961.jpg) |
Stars and protagonist - the way sound looks, the way dressing up feels |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ2vkQqLjP4JrPnwb67ARjreUannQ2bXKJGEnnGDBkKmZlgLj0_EIvg9NIrUaMv2kkPcf7K2nZrvR9S7EngXLwhU04dsrtaWlA7xw4Wrvf7X0X4YvFY6AwuxsOe7GjR-WSjIft/s320/IMG_9962.jpg) |
Young driver, boyhood reverie |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7mGsmk4lL76LqLLhgwSlftwLOt0WoTI1hi0BSvfKXHIDwwmQ3mOHthT3C0vXBQd4uTJhIfqR8gXoinS1IEonJaY6rvnqWBoJyUevSCQY3yOyvKj3tk2baQP_9we1iFVw6j5O/s320/IMG_9964.jpg) |
The seminal 1993 works showing the bucolic child's world of Nickerson Gardens |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWj5qkm2GiK9oRKqH3KnyHPrLLJepmagPhm0olR0WIlpJRPI5ptR64ur1ymD7qRIup099tjBF2f1I0xQMuP3-0MJZh05y-vDCWfgCpApEyPuj5TYi8IcG1X70JZQgMYI4GIL9g/s320/IMG_9965.jpg) |
How I loved these in that year's Biennial: clean script, smeary flowers, geometric homes securely drawn |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAgZq9sRaxARUU1YDgyviiLUHyqEc-bawX7N6X_qoC0hkcVhmVu-XWJoWpYYoXunTXguiIue6qd9IT5NIxhaajxnZhNA0yItkdXDEf986uLmTbOa76GVcOBfZmtkXvnkQCxll/s320/IMG_9966.jpg) |
Kids at play in the world. Motifs arise and repeat, like pink thongs. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggY1bJhF1fhnTzeUNJolwgpnUsthC_968wqR3R883ZbUheI_xh7LV0kyV3OBhPReaSoFit0BSPF5oEf_TiVFVB7GG6jep1mdLX0Hbu9m9WYPY2vcj9qKw4KrUjlkgnU3faqUsS/s320/IMG_9967.jpg) |
The open-ended landscape of childhood... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZBjquVMC_-lnrbOYsaR-vAt8rVEL75SwTP8HDukmPi2qVCC8VA-Y1hC6bTbHX7WrAFPThVT1gGQLLd1_K05d4YubKELzMuLExO33cGVPoB_bOc1fsdBvGFGqLNXYNInlEOaz/s320/IMG_9968.jpg) |
Welcome, welcome~ |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCv-x9NDUbs6Gvevh2Luikemdyp2M1Hg3W70OAXOUH4MouHAsY0p8hz5JJgx_DuuoGZc2CvN3RyWll1lgjLh3n_ivdIq7Wc67jB3M04JUQ9E3vVxb6CRZEgKJ3j_6VgUeVxJe/s320/IMG_9969.jpg) |
And yet synthetic landscape, making no bones about its over construction as a painting |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOWzsiNaBm5l9lzYmnLAoHnwVLnn-IZ_e_afpWx_DZvqTejwQ_oomJu26jd27upxO_-IS9yT2auxaYkpxMoSwAdqqDa-t0bMzNmw8tlcpwjPV_W9EnepwqxS_wyWeg5ka-60w/s320/IMG_9970.jpg) |
That feels quite real, like the jump in sequences in film |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoKh-YNkqpHKj-WFGCnomSJLgmaMpKMQE-zlNOiPU7QDYa6KCB_3wMt6S4MxXZslIVIGAd20OT5SL2z7fbHaOouIzH-oSBjOLFkNLXINh5OClddDHRTVSGNaa7y5m0pkR8qgq/s320/IMG_9972.jpg) |
Marshall's paintings celebrate innocence and its visual construction, without cynicism |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUO8N3aw_h6eDtxLBADWwNuxycghC7qSXdOwO_5SQ1eQRoXrrnPww2rjJnp64Xk5iqDIADx8JlPF9fpFa4uwSLsNbQOVMjxdXcPd3aQq35UJIF547F5XYAh108jtDVLQTV5BaU/s320/IMG_9974.jpg) |
They don't pretend something doesn't exist, but include everything. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVN3qeXCx1N9x5teiRyT-_60whaef9b8JS7HOMEz4-9v9dt0XAB6wIwwx1JvSEGK3JrJ4T4npJIFLmUzjOR-s1G1lwvKhTMrIazE4UBDvo5S4_jVOO5emX1QifXpkyPb6W3lMP/s320/IMG_9975.jpg) |
Jumps in sequence, as when Mary Poppins jumps through the sidewalk with Dick Van Dyke in the '60s film, hearken to innocence/no innocence in that the world is real, both sweet and bitter |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMw8TFE0zqzdGGov9BPQskgolU3iboIpCPmhGZJHaqA21IJsLhmX9vyaTlhmAfx643KxXo7nsPo63c71RRv-rBBvWHmdZdznM_F1H58pkApXtDY8FQk9wWHLD-D9J4m1I5RpG/s320/IMG_9976.jpg) |
America |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileS6bz71LP6h7hHM_CSo9p0xx0_aqjq8wP4W88iqwq-zIbOgwVloQDHN18Rt-6MZ0U6NYzfPYTdFugfKoVw-UoLnXwCMYNvtEIUMG8ktPNOjGBDEQLcJCg2oqFG19S1ys8eBc/s320/IMG_9977.jpg) |
I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America...school children recited this daily in the 1960s |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yD6Pha9KMfZuO9ewzWf-dJevmN2SQXkmyCTyxWvwXfEPt2YleZUQTk2ze4IDa9WsOrwv6cPKf01eXbQ72YFi8tC45twgpCnzZcHXDxhUBem0mddTw-A88aiKD5gfPHvUmxhi/s320/IMG_9978.jpg) |
In this recent (2016) painting, a life model gives a Black power salute |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fsB3pqY5P4SwJw1LqtjOrDgV249ZzunbFbBrhISNto6CUzjl3zNNo6YTGzNY_RVIBOyEq21JbYo2jg0ZJPq9-gL_IvWE8YpWYv4BJtpZI8anQ-egyJ7XZrEZHY2qKBJ2NlUb/s320/IMG_9979.jpg) |
In the opulent make-believe world of the studio |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kH5gwt8QbDgKQKkAiPZ3IqsSfAeEhpscznyNSDl5MvAkfTdKcx_t0c-lUh_ymSprH4wV6lHw8w5wyvZXiu4sZdU4PXcUmCait7LvURt27su9PYXL9wPRyNdnqtlL81V_5du4/s320/IMG_9980.jpg) |
A larger studio, inspired by Marshall's first mentor, Charles White, in LA |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1mt8qve73Fi5W-6BRXEkRa0m4vS54uGwHzJkgXsuDELb9-XGU6zfTPHiCvAyajZyzx-qkyEWguPox7D4WSUkEMw-kMPm4pCYU79u8yV_MoDZfcWvW2x3GUjkATCuzejau-O2/s320/IMG_9981.jpg) |
Paintings within paintings ! and systems of logic fall together seamlessly |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyzSyxnX3kuUNTLmVzyrqMxfL3tZtsrOiqfRkPsncYmRrRgzy-c3S-cd9aVeQZQeiJQ44zRS15qb1ilxU-5YLbUe6TRsv7YJnjCApebFYk6WXbJj1_MN1Wz_uNpORbfUoWNok/s320/IMG_9983.jpg) |
I could get lost in that floor, in those toes, and the light stands. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlyrRSsS8jf40mFnmxWEK2MgImwb5tDOICFwt6-cC2l4KUU4s7_ucZVLLq6DgwpMlLxqoEY9NoK-FxASpwR_zD_UGM4QrrKkxh3Kw2mzNZlwh81QKQ2GsGXFgdWbmdeFP2_ZA/s320/IMG_9985.jpg) |
Rorschach paintings - handsome, yet missing the precision of the drawing |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7_GeaeCn7Cf3SkXROC4i8OtUODi8uVy8OaSkyEcVcYm7H6mExhxqi83MOKFerMteG3ZGA34eFPCArQru5RcQPV4hDIdjG2VYFFAEZ7v4yKqkhDi8x5mYqnyvgCh86qxJj4Q7/s320/IMG_9987.jpg) |
Something I saw for the first time in Mastry: Chicago influence - a la Ed Paschke in this neon backdrop. Marshall lives in Chicago, but I had never identified the Imagist influence in his work before. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9E6tHyi19FI8MRlJT2G3GGJ71lUUbSgvCwJ4un2eOV-Bu1e37AhBzz2kTLBF3-GsG2ZFkVy9OyjczwD47zj7_A8mrOMafZCwP0xTUvhS2A6XaHJe2Io7td8i1b52ZVFrv8PWS/s320/IMG_9988.jpg) |
This beautiful palette shares a precision and tonality with Jim Nutt's portraits. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoalIDsuiSyrR7iR0W1jfmPjXvfkBGndfYuuG_kSFuoGfZ673Blh872SZ8B9DPwejyZNHL9KAKok27hdsFzfmxm8vO611tFnGDf-iGjSoTKm5B2ovhr_LmTFz317PeEltQyu-/s320/IMG_9989.jpg) |
Close view of Frankenstein and Mrs. Frankenstein - the flip side to KJM's childhood paintings. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkgTY8V-_XCzRGrSiHusJsW-7cQgFhChr2of8y_SlOY-FplBUt5qnA_uuFEUpG4i2pyyhhMzZRF_jSsBFOwu7JxC5R2pg7cEetFr7gy8JPP_YdwLEErWv8UtM4dDbF1AsVz2-/s320/IMG_9991.jpg) |
A series of portraits with strong Japanese influence: |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NzStqbMnjSaOeYYH6XZX72b3IMETW6oX7HMkrAWALijeGhC13grqdRyH5AxOhgmevYCIZpe-iLX9EBK6xH8x067UmESZuXv5JSG9rm9q1e2VpsF3A76tOSqaEtWrEhfISFoq/s320/IMG_9992.jpg) |
really portraits of ow a painting is made, layer by layer, color by color side by side...assembled, built, constructed and realized. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi374XPaf_uXiD_KgK_0BUGJhnrVOrjCN-5MPzpm7Er-5fchfBGoXMIItFSGfwF9b5pEKqRVDB35SzI0WXMJbthPFERGwzCMMPBgimiEP1BNOX-gaZzRaIMTP15x17p32us3ytq/s320/IMG_9993.jpg) |
How sometimes it can feel like paint by numbers, while other times it's magic improvisation. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QPlaQuz2luT7x3Bb2qF7U85zAu1PlhhYDoxKEG4-tKOqFlNDRfaiHO_PMD_fJcomMK0_aEUgIxdwlLGLmBl2vKTsrsyPqAw_do1bIT4h58qGG1Q25et6-V2ALvrtS0RNJdoM/s320/IMG_0008.jpg) |
And another mural-sized painting of Chicago's South Side, in full below. Here, a detail showing prisms caused in camera. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwwHmKTVSCwxAQZEb4YyBKFSl22lP4xsyUvCEyW1sWss3FJawJhEOHwB1A7l4ksRQoa3_qKOKdInHxhaN9Kl9LX7dcAKjdbGQUm7Iaz8SHDE6Wtu_tmbo2wggLCK2PCOOuWcX/s320/IMG_0013.jpg) |
The whole painting almost |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoGZBwfaKwCSREPpXUs-UN9nErDZt4NDbXnJ2EYfIb-hx4rP1jFY_3-mI7z3Bg1mrDcJ-CYfrym3WzgvpFU5YhQs7iLzdE4-p4Z9jLjjziUMk6ozmgMXlS63260sNP06rG37f/s320/IMG_0014.jpg) |
Glitter, texture, pattern - at this point, I was in a swoon ~ |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhag5IMEVeudGt7u1PW117PQSceLq6_vBFtNzLzDJAky983tlXde48h-W1XFhguzuHJcGVRCXSXTwtS2Xw_gEzBBYp0C48ZRtByH26fIVAmF46C281qdQzJZv1doaFq0xXpCVeN/s320/IMG_0016.jpg) |
Emerging from the black and white world. The glitter, the outre design elements, flowers, bodies - adolescent castaway identity - belongs to men and women. But I don't forget the women. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2iJJoP8stSkQ6g7qmojHZT74DGPpZzpP4HICiFoYSd06WvoLqlgWqf7ChKWjlIqvS8ff0ZQVZGhwevxSQJsbLcks55FsMwjq8_FSZ9MyhB3QgkD_c3MEl9m3yxVwhR0vz-PS3/s320/IMG_0018.jpg) |
Pattern, image, text, space within space |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfsgaagU5zkCQbiHpeA0BwzIU7M_CnUq0f2JMEVqnX9e_jpmayGjNxUlPu1y1irQWTJ7UYeflzPAFKQZzlXK2D0v14XbcSANkIF_Koz46g-BBZT_E8J77gt5iVYOTOeJf1dBK/s320/IMG_0019.jpg) |
In The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen writes, "Now a guarantee of happiness--that's a great deal. But a guarantee to be allowed to pursue the jackpot of happiness? Merely an opportunity to buy a lottery ticket. Someone would surely win millions, but millions would surely pay for it." |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpUQbKDuqGWMWTYggvYiE02mv8ts2md7sA7Cze6w5rpKZq0squq9OUNsCzW-6RjfKVSrEiM42KF0PZuuwxA0SeRI9OtJ_ZfapS-E1P-jqcDhZD1kDJgj4Tf37ymfV3pbD2H9x/s320/IMG_0020.jpg) |
Annunciation from the Past to the Future |
Mastry is funny and Mastery achieved. Congratulations to Kerry James Marshall for one of the best museum shows ever. It's sublime - and pointed, too.