"The San Francisco School of Abstract Expressionism."

ArtForum, Nov, 1996 by Peter Plagens

As it stands, I'd say that San Francisco Abstract Expressionism at least holds its own with the New York AbEx tier of Herman Cherry, Michael Goldberg, James Brooks, and Joan Mitchell. And in this exhibition, it looked a lot more aesthetically nutritious than (my memory of) its later LA cousins, the late-'50s pre-"LA Look" abstract improvisations of Billy Al Bengston, Craig Kauffman, and Robert Irwin. Also, besides proving that San Francisco Abstract Expressionism was more than a parochial nice try, the exhibition demonstrated that painting - plain ol' low-tech, brush-in-hand, confined-by-the-rectangle painting - still has an immediacy and relevance that, for those who care to look, recent history can't seem to take away from it. I wish the scope of this show had been as wide, its physical presence as deep, as the wonderful catalogue by Susan Landauer that goes with it. For now, however, I'm grateful.

"The San Francisco School of Abstract Expressionism" show was organized by the Laguna Art Museum.

Peter Plagens is a painter and the art critic for Newsweek magazine.