Tag Archives: Pat Stier

Pat Steir’s Winter Paintings at Cheim & Read

Posted on by
I wish I had had a camera with me for the opening of Pat Steir’s Winter Paintings at Cheim & Read, so that I could show you up close how well the layers of rich colors overlay each other in these two-tone canvases.

Her latest waterfall paintings–note the textured drippage–use a lot of metallics. The gold felt especially luxuroius. Waterfalls where paint is dripped and poured down the canvas have been a signature of the artist’s since the 80s. The layering gives a real saturated and deep coloring to these large canvases, and the waterfall effect encourages contemplation.

Compared to the Nearly Endless Line exhibition of the artist’s I saw about a month ago, these seem remarkably traditional works, but they remain immersive and focused with an in interest in subtle manipulation of one or two elements.

Pat Steir’s Nearly Endless Line at Sue Scott Gallery

Posted on by
Installation Shot–does not do it justice…

As I noted above, these photographs hardly due justice to the experience of walking through Steir’s installation at the Sue Scott Gallery. The Nearly Endless Line manages to create an energy that is hard to capture without being able to sense all the surfaces of the darkened rooms. There are just two rooms of average size but they seem expansive if not endless. It feels like walking through an Abstract Expressionist painting–a neat experience–and a much warmer one than works by some of her contemporaries like Sol LeWitt.

Another almost useless installation shot
Up close: thin red grid

While the dark lighting smacks a bit of stagecraft, this piece raised the bar for how I want installations to affect me. The precise red grid on the dark background shows off the choas and energy of the white line. Up at the Sue Scott Gallery through January 9th if you want a surprisingly trippy, simple yet immersible art experience.