Paint to thrill

At WAM, four artists prove they're no slaves to tradition

by Leon Nigrosh

PAINTING PUSHED TO EXTREMES
At the Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury Street, Worcester, through November 12.

painting (pan'ting) n. 1. A picture or design executed in paints. 2. The act, art, or work of one who paints.

Although this definition is accurate, it's a little tepid. After you see the current exhibition in the contemporary gallery at the Worcester Art Museum, you'll definitely want to come up with your own terminology. Each of the four artists represented does use paint somewhere in his or her compositions, but you'd be hard-pressed to squeeze what each artist does into any definition of "painting."

Take Brooklyn artist Matt Harle. His two untitled works consist chiefly of large sections of Styrofoam insulation and gobs of plaster sealed in vinyl slipcovers. One composition nicknamed "Big Blue" is strongly reminiscent of a Chinese scroll painting. It should first be viewed from a distance to appreciate the overall composition, and then closer to examine the details. Harle has joined large sections of pale-blue Styrofoam to create a three-peaked, wave-like background, over which he has placed three plaster clouds, each sheathed in stitched clear plastic. Every detail is intentional; what at first appears to be condensation inside the plastic is actually pigment, applied by Harle with a spraygun. His other work, "Little Pink," is structured similarly to "Big Blue," albeit with pink Styrofoam. Trickles of pale yellow pigment add pleasant contrast.

Harle is obviously inspired by the Minimalists of the 1950s and the Color Field artists of the 1960s. But he's no mimic. He combines the two concepts, adding physical dimensionality to the flat surfaces favored by his peers. The result is curiously satisfying objects ripe for extended contemplation.

Much the same can be said for the other pieces in the exhibit. Your first look at Boston artist Bill Thompson's work -- squares of smooth polyurethane coated with car paint -- may inspire little but a yawn. But here again, the subtleties of the work must be discovered.

His diptych Locket sets one slightly concave panel 90 degrees against a barely convex square. The impeccably applied metallic gold-toned acrylic urethane befits the piece's name, and its shape suggests an imminent joining of male and female parts. In Counterweight, Thompson pairs a perfectly flat square painted with non-reflective graphite with another, this one with a subtly undulating, opalescent pale-blue surface. The stark nature of the black panel finds balance through the constantly changing light values its pearl-toned companion.

To capture the full effect of Thompson's work, you should look at his so-called "altered flats" from different heights and angles. By noting the reflected light as well as your own reflection, you'll become an active participant in the works.

The show's two large "shag paintings," by LA artist Jim Isermann sit squarely on the line between fine art and craft. The left half of his 1989 untitled work is enamel paint on board and the perfectly matched right section is a hand-hooked Orlon shag rug. The piece's pattern of purple and green disks mixed with vertical orange and yellow stripes creates an eye-popping whirl of color changes and after-images.

His other, also untitled work is a diamond shaped, op-art wall piece executed in a similar half-paint, half-shag fashion. With both objects, Isermann creates a decidedly retro look that recalls the Modernist-inspired rugs and home furnishings of the 1970s. The question remains, though, as to whether these works should be on display at WAM or at Rotman's.

The show's final artist, New Yorker Polly Apfelbaum, refers to her works as "fallen paintings." For this show, she has created a floor installation made up of hundreds of brilliantly hued, hand-stained synthetic velvet pieces. Titled Blow-Up, the work is a logical transition from the early poured and dribbled paintings by Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) and the stained canvases by Helen Frankenthaler (b. 1928). Both artists worked first on the floor then mounted finished pieces on the wall. But unlike her predecessors, Apfelbaum's delicate "painting" exists in a constant state of re-interpretation: the velvet scraps are never joined and must be reassembled for each showing.

All of the artists featured in the show are process oriented. Their labors -- sanding, stitching, hooking, or cutting -- are a visible and important part of each object. But their creations are far more than piecework; these artists have explored absorbing, convention-shattering new terrain.

The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (508) 799-4406 or visit www.worcesterart.org.