Inspiration and Influence: Contemporary Masters and their Predecessors

February 25 - March 31, 2009

James Goodman Gallery is pleased to present Inspiration and Influence: Contemporary Masters and Their Predecessors. This exhibition juxtaposes works by five contemporary artists with artworks by modern artists whose work has been influential to their oeuvre. Some of the pairings are quite straightforward while others ask the viewer to make associations where none have previously been made. All of the couplings challenge one to explore the dialogue that exists between the works and the different generations of artists.

Artist pairings include:
Sky Gate XXXI by Louise Nevelson and Curry 2 by Subodh Gupta
In both these works a systematic repetition of forms is utilized and compartmentalized. The wall pieces repeat patterns and forms using found objects. In Gupta’s work rhythm is created by stacking like-objects next to each other. The shiny stainless steel surfaces reflect light, moving the eye throughout the work. Nevelson, also intrigued by light and
shadow, uses arcs juxtaposed with linear verticals to create movement in the work.

Infinity Nets by Yayoi Kusama and Blue Net by Ross Bleckner
Their subject matter appears at first to be identical. Both artists utilize organic shapes and monochromatic backgrounds that draw the viewer in by transporting them into an
alternate universe. Kusama expands our world by looking out into the cosmos while Bleckner investigates the microscopic cellular elements of our environs.

Deux Danseuses by Edgar Degas and Nude by Richard Diebenkorn
Diebenkorn is most often cited as being influenced by Matisse in his portraiture but here we see a parallel with Edgar Degas’ drawing not only in subject matter but also in the technique used to draft the figure. Masters of strong and definitive line, the artists both depict the women in less than flattering positions---figures twist, sprawl and sit awkwardly. Both viewed the human figure as a prop to be manipulated. Degas and Diebenkorn’s figures are not about the narrative but more about the balanced composition and naturalism shown through the body in movement, and in these works in particular, torsion. Like Degas, Diebenkorn cuts off part of the figure creating the illusion of a spontaneous moment.

Site Aloire avec 8 personnages by Jean Dubuffet and Untitled by Jean-Michel Basquiat
While elements in Basquiat’s work were based on the African Diaspora, jazz music and New York City urban life, Dubuffet was concerned with an ‘art brut,’ a raw untrained art created by the mentally ill and children. Both Dubuffet and Basquiat had a desire to breathe new life into a stale antiquated art world using spontaneity and a grafitti-like primitive technique. Art for them was a means of communication with the common man and an expression of life.

Untitled by Sol Lewitt and Untitled by Keith Haring
Unlike other paintings in this exhibition, these two works do not appear to have much in common at first glance. Both artists often moved away from the canvas to create impermanent wall drawings utilizing their own visual language in order to make art accessible to the public. Though not a wall drawing, the Lewitt gouache on view is a perfect example of Lewitt’s strong use of color and line that became one of his trademarks. Haring’s work on plywood from 1983 is simple in composition and subject matter and is the perfect example of the pictographs that he became best known for.