notes from chelsea

This is not a statement on painting per se or a meta statement about the state of painting nor will I be invoking that cliche that most people do when they begin to talk about painting, this is however about three "painter's" exhibits at three different galleries in Chelsea. I use quotes because one of these artists is relatively new to painting and has been quoted as saying that he had wanted to try it for some time, oh but we will get there.

I am going to start with the painter that was the most disappointing, Eric Fischl. These paintings are tired and dated yet not dated in the way my grandmothers shag carpet is dated but it is more complex, especially if you consider the Richter Havekost school of contemporary painting or as some say the Tuymens effect, you know photographically mediated image rendered in photorealistic detail blah blah blah. Fischl's paintings in their awkward harkening back to painting from life seem more awkward and dated than compelling or inviting. These paintings are stuck in an artworld that does not yet love the Tuymen's effect and are fighting for a presence, however the art world more than accepts the Tuymen's effect hence the awkwardness and datedness. Also paintings of people I don't know, much less care about doing things that are uninteresting is a recipe for me leaving the gallery, quicker and visually unsatisfied.

Next we have Damien Hirst at Gagosian (yes that is the same artist that caused a "sensation" in the late nineties) who has decided to try his hand at painting. That was hard to say with a straight face after all he has a workshop with a team of assistants who make his paintings for him and in the process validate the corruption of the artworld gift system. The Hirst brand needs to be sold so it needs to be manufactured en masse, that is to say this exhibit is not about paintings it is about Hirst's ego, the brand Hirst and the money that controls the artworld receiving a return on their investments. That he is working this way is somewhat honest or at least he is honest about it, what is, sad are all of those writers wasting time trying to determine this "move" and what it "means". It is about commerce and nothing more and in some respect that renders Hirst's voice as an artist suspect.

The best painting exhibit in Chelsea right now is Jules De Balincourt at LFL. These paintings are a little didactic and at times are a little naively painted and every now and then they feel a bit like Neo Rauch in the way space is organized but this adds to the experience, they are not perfect. Risks were taken and decisions were made in the name of the paintings and not in the name of commerce. The strength of this work is evident from far away and reinforced as you develop a closer relationship with the work as little surprises unfold the closer you get. Those surprises are in the way paint is applied, colors chosen and in the narratives. This is a very satisfying exhibit and after my third trip it keeps getting better.