ART REVIEW
Sand, Sea and Abstraction

By BENJAMIN GENOCCHIO
Published: November 26, 2006

American abstraction has been around for more than 50 years, which in a way puts it beyond criticism. It is an accepted part of the art canon, and those who continue to work in that tradition enjoy the comfort of being part of what many critics regard as the single most important contribution of American artists to the history of art.

With that in mind, you may as well switch off your critical faculties and simply bliss out on the three dozen paintings and drawings assembled for a pair of enjoyable group exhibitions on abstraction at the Spanierman Gallery in East Hampton. The shows consist mainly of works by abstract painters who periodically have made the East End their home.

What is also interesting about these two exhibitions — paintings upstairs and drawings downstairs — is that much of the work was done on Long Island. Though art history teaches us that life in the modern industrial city is the impulse behind American abstraction, it is fair to say that since the 1950s, some of the most significant developments in the genre have happened by the beach.

This is in part, of course, because many of the central figures in the Abstract Expressionist movement established homes in the East End, and their presence attracted other abstract artists. But there is also an argument to be made — and perhaps a book to be written — about the influence of the East End landscape on American abstract painting. These shows are a good place to start.

Some of the paintings here are magnificent. One is an untitled 1982 work by John Alexander, probably inspired by the garden at the artist’s summer home in Amagansett. The composition is straightforward, but there is ingenuity in the brushwork and the range of colors. This painting bridges the gap between figuration and expressionism, and takes us to a dreamy world beyond both.

Inevitably, for eyes accustomed to looking at television, the simplest and often the purest forms of abstract art can be the least accessible. The paintings of Dan Christensen, who lives in Springs, fall into this category, often consisting of little more than bloblike shapes floating on a monochromatic ground, occasionally with traces of underpainting rising up from below the surface.

Female abstract painters are also well represented in the two shows, with works by Elaine de Kooning, Betty Parsons, Charlotte Park and Della Weinberger. Ms. de Kooning’s painting “Cave No. 54, Sand Wall” (1985), a symbolic representation of the bison and deer painted on the walls of caves by prehistoric man, is arguably one of her best late paintings. It is also the most expensive work in the show at more than $300,000.

“Cave No. 54, Sand Wall” was created in East Hampton shortly before Ms. de Kooning died in 1989. It contains elements of traditional Abstract Expressionist art, including the sweeping gestures and expansive scale, though these qualities are married to a distinctly Long Island sensibility. The sand-colored hues and yellow light are summery, reminding you of a day at the beach.

The force of this painting lies in its simplicity, which, in some ways, is what attracts us to a lot of abstract art. Some artists choose to complicate their work with symbolic gestures and tangential flourishes that either dilute or strengthen the basic composition, as paintings by several artists here show. Among the more successful are abstracts by Jimmy Ernst, Gary Komarin and James Brooks.

Downstairs are the works on paper, including some skillfully poised abstracts by Ms. Park, Ms. Parsons, Mr. Ernst and others. Ms. Park’s works are a revelation, for she is little known and began to draw attention only after the death of her husband, the painter James Brooks, in 1992. Her all-over compositions with messy blocky shapes covering the entire paper have a tremendous vitality and energy. She is also a great colorist.

Certainly other talented abstract artists are living and working on Long Island who could have been included, and one hopes that future exhibitions will embrace them. But for the moment this selection provides an enjoyable entree into the wealth of abstract art that has taken root here.

“Long Island Abstraction — 1950s to the Present” and “20th Century Abstraction: Works on Paper,” Spanierman Gallery, 68 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, through Dec. 4.
Information: (631) 329-9530

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