At the Galleries

Hudson Review, The, Autumn 2008 by Wilkin, Karen

I'm obviously not a detached observer (see above), but to my eye, Noland's serially related but markedly individual "Stripe" paintings at Leslie Feely were proof of just how arresting, wide ranging, and expressive these apparently pared-down, disembodied, severely disciplined pictures can be. Each stated its point purely by means of its proportions, both internal and external, and by means of its ravishing palette. Each was different in mood, temperature, and flavor. Noland makes the differences between hues, the intervals between them, and the extension of his canvas horizontally and vertically into powerful, wordless dramas. Think of the way George Balanchine stirs our deepest feelings and engages every part of our minds in his "leotard ballets," masterpieces like Agon or Four Temperaments, devoid of story, costumes, or scenery, whose fascination and impact derive entirely from the unexpected ways lean bodies describe trajectories through space and relate to each other across the empty volume of the stage. But we have to confront these pictures face to face, take note of everything that is there-however deceptively simple it seems-and spend enough time both to absorb their nuances and to allow the orchestration of colors to trigger our own individual associations. It's what art historians refer to as "close reading," and it's worth the effort. Fortunately, shows like "Earning His Stripes: Kenneth Noland in the 60's" allow us to make that effort.

KAREN WILKIN wrote the catalogue essay for the Morandi exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute. . . .