Portrayal
Lohin Geduld Gallery
531 W. 25th St., (212) 675-2656
Through July 10
Repeatedly, painting is declared “dead,” then “revived,” then “dead” again. More than once—as if painting were a trend, not a calling—I have heard the facile argument that if Giotto or Picasso began working today, he would become a video or installation artist.
Lohin Geduld is one of a handful of galleries that stands behind genuine contemporary painters. This group show of 33 works, mostly painted portraits, co-curated by Ro Lohin and Marianne Gagnier, bears this out. “Portrayal” is crowded and wildly uneven, but pictures by Lennart Anderson, Rosemarie Beck, John Dubrow, Philip Guston, John Heliker, Franz Kline and Ruth Miller make this one of the best shows of painting in Chelsea. Louisa Matthiasdottir’s and Leland Bell’s two oil portraits, respectively, of their daughter Temma Bell, and Ms. Bell’s portrait of her own daughter, all attest that painting is a powerful language that evolves through generations. Through structural clarity and psychological penetration, they prove that the painted portrait is still one of the most vital forms of portrayal.
—Mr. Esplund covers galleries and writes about art for the Journal.
Plus my photograph:
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