The Freewheeling Landscapes of Olive Ayhens

Olive Ayhens Website

A world of variation: Olive Ayhens' landscapes

Detail: Bonnardian dabs of color

Cars, each uniquely treated

Coastal painting, somewhere in Europe--can't remember now; where she spent time painting

Detail of the coastal city

Traffic - a recurring theme in Olive's work (she has also painted at the old WTC residency and all over the world)

New painting - animals resting in a Moorish castle;

So much love in her unique logic of animals.

Multiple perspectives, as we've come to perceive the world;

And right next to it, a gorgeous cemetery painting from the 1990s

Uneasy co-existence of elements in a newer painting

Thermonuclear plants and

a pink hotel.

Olive in the studio

In 1996 I flipped over an Olive Ayhens painting at DC Moore for its painterly facture and humorous drawing portraying a traffic jam of cars falling between rocks as if water. The serendipitous combination of real elements and imaginary landscape delighted the eye and engaged thoughts on time, place and how they are experienced and remembered. Since that show Olive exhibited and was represented by Frederiecke Taylor until its recent close; she is making new paintings in her Brooklyn studio. It is always an inspiration to see her work as it is harnessed to the real world, but not limited by its rules. Here are some of the paintings in her studio at the moment.

To Be A Lady

http://nortemaar.org/projects/to-be-a-lady/

To Be A Lady opens tonight!! I am honored to participate in Jason Andrew's exhibition, filled with many great artists. The exhibition stays open through half of January 2013 to be viewed again and again.

I've long thought of a post about art world dynamos such as Deborah Brown, Martin Bromirski, Sharon Butler, Austin Thomas and countless others. Jason Andrew leads the way with consistently excellent programming and enormous breadth in all aspects of the creative arts.

Night of the opening: Look at Lee Bontecou!

Edith Schloss, new to me: she moved to Italy early on. A light, insouciant painting

Mary Judge, Elisabeth Condon, Lindsay Walt - to the left a video by Julia K. Gleich, the choreographer. The racing track in the video links to the stripes in my painting in a really pleasing way.

LES Sunday Followup Part III

Valerie Hegarty at Beauchene

From close to, mixing shredded paintings with fake flowers, plaster, etc.

This reminds me of Susan J. Navarette's book on late Victorian literature and its fear of the unknown: it's really crazy. There's paint drops on the floor too but they look too much like paint, still...

Jen Mazza: The Words at Stephan Stoyanov. I loved these paintings!

Not only is she interested in 20th century existentialism, she paints every word.

Even Utrillo reproductions! Her research is thorough as is her technique. We remember the books fondly while enjoying the paintings for their own sake. They are lovingly painted.

Laura Newman, whose exhibition at Jen Beckman on Spring Street is featured on Anaba's blog, linked lower right, opened several weeks ago; I saw it but did not photograph it. Please go to Anaba to check it out.

LES Sunday 9/23/12 Part I/II

Matthew Miller at Pocket Utopia, 191 Henry St. LES

The drawings transcribe painted self-portraits: portraiture filtered through painting

Firm and soft edges

The original, the twice-removed portrait (transcribed from a painting)

Gina Magid at Feature (continuing from end of next post)

She has a beautiful, raw immediate touch, and makes great reversals

Here is one--atmosphere and volume reverse density

Doubling of candlesticks and hands: lighter and denser

Judy Linn: street view on street, fresh and beautiful

Even the sidewalk looks good: was this signed?!

Mary Weatherford's New York paintings--about when she lived here in the 1990s

They are painted on heavy linen, almost a jute: denser than you'd think

A real beauty; splashier than most

Weirder

Doreen McCarthy and Ivelesse Jiminez at Cuchifritos

Jiminez - love the top left turn into space

McCarthy: smaller, lighter works

McCarthy looking the best I've ever seen: delicately notched openings for each piece to interlock and cast shadows

 

 

There is more to post, including Valerie Hagarty at Beauchene and Jen Mazza at Stoyanov. There is also Jason Andrew's To Be A Lady opening Monday, 9/24/12, at 1258 Avenue of the Americas (between 51st and 52nd Streets). Do-able to see Matthew Miller's uptown show at CG Boener,  23 E 73rd beforehand. My eye and thinking about painting is galvanized and I'm inspired to return to the studio. 

Sunday LES 9/23/12

Polly Shindler, really exciting painter, shown next to Kathy Bradford in Agrro Crag at Bosi Contemporary

A closeup, lots missed due to iPhone quality-deep greens mixed into the rich textural blacks

Amy Feldman, shown with Joyce Pensato - whoever curated this made some wonderful associations!

Polly Schindler with gold leaf: YES! Also relates to what I am doing in the studio but in a completely different way.

Russel Tyler - what a free hand, makes it look easy. Love the white veils on black.

Polly Shindler.

Jim Wright, from 'Shift' at Lesley Heller

The paintings almost look like candy--they are obsessive, weird, nearly awful, but not: they are totally interesting.

Drew Shiflett, Lesley Heller front room

A gorgeous, smaller, light Shiflett drawing

Larger more epic Drew Shiflett

It's nest building, or hut construction...weaving, marking, interlocking materials and planes

Textured on the back as well. She makes sculpture, outdoor and wall works.

Gary Petersen, across the street at Valerie Mackenzie's beautiful new digs

Rob de Oude, in Mackenzie's Line and Plane (larger work in front; this strange, woven one with muted palette is beautiful)

Richard Roth, one of three very deep wall works

Maureen McQuillian, a paper work--or rather marker and glue on bookbinding tissue--a rich, worked surface not like Drew Shiflett's but there is a correspondence in the methodology.

At Feature: Josh Podoll - these are gorgeous paintings

Especially this: he knows when to leave it alone.

Facing across Podell's work, Gina Magid's--strong, passionate, marking the surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is more, much more--the Verizon connection is horrible, so it's taking an hour or more to upload each entry. Therefore, to be continued...More Gina Magid, plus Jen Mazza, Doreen McCarthy, Matthew Miller and a Judy Linn. Shows I didn't photograph include Sandi Slone, whose poured oil paintings reminded me in their facture, if I can use that word, of Frank Bowling seen at the Seven Art Fair December 2011 in Miami  and currently at the Tate.