Eozen Agopian, Fading Away (2012), oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas with thread; courtesy Lesley Heller Workspace
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New Yorkers who remember SoHo before it became the Manhattan equivalent of The Mall of America, probably remember Michael Walls Gallery–a spacious venue located on (if memory serves correctly) Wooster Street and friendly to the art of painting. Since the gallery’s closing, Walls has been involved in the art scene in one capacity or another–like right now. He’s curated Three Colorists, a lovely exhibition at the Lesley Heller Workspace.
The title’s worth quibbling over–Alan Kleiman, Diane Mayo and Eozen Agopian are, in their respective use of oils, clay and fabric, more deeply involved with material. Which isn’t to suggest that color is ancillary to, say, Agopian’s painterly blurs of thread or that curatorial prerogative can’t steer the eye one way or another. When such a prerogative enriches the art at hand, you know the curator–take a bow, Mr. Walls–has done his job well.
© 2012 Mario Naves
Too Much Art 