Gray Area

Lisa Kowalski Gray Area 2010 (via Half/Dozen)

Ruminating on Abstraction, check out the large wet-on-wet abstract works of Lisa Kowalski at Half/Dozen. It's up until October 23rd. A good throw back to the Abstract Expressionists. And I mean good because these 60" images breathe.

Mary Heilmann (via Un Bloody)

I can't help but feel alot of young abstract work feels stiff, copy-cat or caught up on being non-representational for lack of anything else (this coming from a painter who is fixated on representation!). It might take a career to understand how paint relationships work. I can't understand how artists at the student-level ever begin with Abstraction. Where are they working from?

Even though Abstract Expressionism was explored and absorbed into a sort of mainstream art language, I think it might be one of the more difficult things to explore.

Semi-Related: A friend of mine keeps pointing out that a painting I bought from a local painter bears a resemblance to some Mary Heilmann. It's true, but both their bodies of work (and concepts) only intersect at the stripes.

UPDATED: See Lisa Kowalski s installation shots via OpenWide PDX.

Monograph Bookwerks

Monograph Bookwerks

John Brodie and Blair Saxon-Hill have opened a new art book store: Monograph Bookwerks. John and Blair are both visual artists, so the shop promises to be smart about architecture, design, photography, fashion, biographies and criticism. They will sell both used and rare books, studio objects and artwork! Keep up to date with their Twitter page.

Although I don't know Blair all that well, I do know that John is ceaselessly busy. John recently opened Store For a Month (much to the chatter of PDX). He also had a giant re-appropriated billboard-like art installation at this years Disjecta Biennial. Oh, and he owns Le Happy.