Brenda Goodman at Robert Steele

Art in America, July, 1998 by Jonathan Goodman

Brenda Goodman's paintings are a compelling amalgam of abstract and figurative effects. In general her work projects disturbing psychological states through an intense, but controlled, expressionism. Deeply felt emotions are often conveyed through the figure -- for example, in the massive self-portraits from 1993-94, and now in the groups of characters seen in many of her current paintings.

This large show of more than 30 new works included oils on wood and small paper pieces. Loss, nostalgia and identity seem to be the artist's ongoing concerns. She creates her atmosphere of longing primarily through color; she has a wonderfully sure sense of what works. In an untitled piece from 1997. a gray-brown ground is enlivened by a very small figure standing at the painting's bottom center left; above, a densely textured and finely scumbled patchwork of squares features a spectrum of hues -- slate blue, orange yellow, light gray, dark green. The solitary figure conveys loneliness, if not isolation.

While many of the larger paintings are variations on a single figure in an intricately structured abstract space, others present what seems to be a funeral gathering, or possibly participants at a feast. In a small 1997 work on paper, a number of broadly articulated figures gather around what appears to be a yellow table. The black background above them is thinly painted, with the white paper showing through; behind the group, in the upper right, there seems to be an opening to the outside world, done in gray blue. In this piece and others, Ensor, Vuillard and perhaps Munch come to mind.

An untitled painting of 1997 also concentrates emotional energy on a group of people. Here figures at the lower left move up towards another group, which can be read as abstract shapes as well as human forms. The bodies are mostly black, while the heads are white. A green figure, also a striking abstract form. stands at front and upper center in the painting. The colors in this work meld quietly. Like all the paintings in the show, it sends a melancholic message, which, however muted, appears to be central to Goodman's version of things.