These are really great! I stumbled onto them at Mixed Greens, not being familiar with Nadeau's work, and was very charmed by the funkiness of the paint and the inventiveness of the imagery. I love the idea of piles and stacks in an abstract painting, and Nadeau is really exploring that, physically, with the paint.
Very true, the drip device has been quite "done," but Nadeau pulls it off here, somehow. These also remind me a bit of Mary Heilman's work: self-consciously injecting a fresh, unpretentious bit of funk to hard-edged abstraction. But they still feel like their own thing. Along those lines, another great abstraction show up right now is Stephen Westphal, at Lennon Weinberg. Painter, do you think it merits a post?
i just looked over all of robs paintings on his web site. he seems to be playing a lot with surface and material quality often striking an off note and creeating some tension and dischord...however i think this is uprooted by the fact that all of his compositions work too well, they arent as dynamic as his surface decisions. there may be some sort of cosmic resonance if he were to couple his disparate surfaces with a more off balance composition.
This painting fits in the Mixed Greens mold. That is, its is not going to offend anyone and it will please the eye.
Mixed greens started out that way and will end that way, not with a bang, but with a going out of business sale - not that I think that will happen anytime soon.
But beneath that (style is shallow) most of the MG artists seem concerend with something, but I think the ones that are leave for "better" - more conceptual/psychological galleries. Sophisticated folk art - towing the line between international style and down home goodness.
Which is to say mixed greens is a great place to shop for office decor or your safe house. Don't you want to feel safe?
This stack of magazine spines might tip over in the breeze.
But I'd eat breakfast next to it, or poop under it, or read the new york times in a sunbeam near it.
In another way it reminds me of a graphic representation of my hard drive - fragmented, yet pretty.
i looked at this image yesterday thinking "oh, a new artist for me", but it wasn't until today and looking at barry hoggard's flickr account images that i realized i actually saw this mixed greens show. i guess that means it didn't leave much of an impression.
it is interesting now to re-read the comments, remembering the show. i understand the impulse, but it is hard for me to compare these positively to heilmann, nozkowski, or westfall. maybe matt connors.
now, i've looked at the work on his website and like it better than i did in the show. why? maybe i like the design part but not the painting part, and can appreciate the design part on the web without having to deal with the painting part?
8 comments:
Rob Nadeau
Mixed Greens Gallery | 531 West 26th Street | New York City | 10001 | (212) 331-8888
These are really great! I stumbled onto them at Mixed Greens, not being familiar with Nadeau's work, and was very charmed by the funkiness of the paint and the inventiveness of the imagery. I love the idea of piles and stacks in an abstract painting, and Nadeau is really exploring that, physically, with the paint.
Very true, the drip device has been quite "done," but Nadeau pulls it off here, somehow. These also remind me a bit of Mary Heilman's work: self-consciously injecting a fresh, unpretentious bit of funk to hard-edged abstraction. But they still feel like their own thing. Along those lines, another great abstraction show up right now is Stephen Westphal, at Lennon Weinberg. Painter, do you think it merits a post?
over it.
i just looked over all of robs paintings on his web site. he seems to be playing a lot with surface and material quality often striking an off note and creeating some tension and dischord...however i think this is uprooted by the fact that all of his compositions work too well, they arent as dynamic as his surface decisions.
there may be some sort of cosmic resonance if he were to couple his disparate surfaces with a more off balance composition.
This painting fits in the Mixed Greens mold. That is, its is not going to offend anyone and it will please the eye.
Mixed greens started out that way and will end that way, not with a bang, but with a going out of business sale - not that I think that will happen anytime soon.
But beneath that (style is shallow) most of the MG artists seem concerend with something, but I think the ones that are leave for "better" - more conceptual/psychological galleries. Sophisticated folk art - towing the line between international style and down home goodness.
Which is to say mixed greens is a great place to shop for office decor or your safe house. Don't you want to feel safe?
This stack of magazine spines might tip over in the breeze.
But I'd eat breakfast next to it, or poop under it, or read the new york times in a sunbeam near it.
In another way it reminds me of a graphic representation of my hard drive - fragmented, yet pretty.
Data can be read top down or from the side.
Stuff like that.
i looked at this image yesterday thinking "oh, a new artist for me", but it wasn't until today and looking at barry hoggard's flickr account images that i realized i actually saw this mixed greens show. i guess that means it didn't leave much of an impression.
it is interesting now to re-read the comments, remembering the show. i understand the impulse, but it is hard for me to compare these positively to heilmann, nozkowski, or westfall. maybe matt connors.
now, i've looked at the work on his website and like it better than i did in the show. why? maybe i like the design part but not the painting part, and can appreciate the design part on the web without having to deal with the painting part?
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