Good on Paper: Drawings and Paintings

About

“Good on Paper: Drawings and Painting,” an exhibition of works on paper at Gallery 532 Thomas Jaeckel, presents new work by fourteen contemporary artists: Per Adolfsen, Carlos Rodríguez Cardenas, Diana Copperwhite, Susana Guerrero, Ian Hughes, Julie Langsam, Henry Mandell, Paco Marcial, John A. Parks, Jean-Guerly Pétion, Alberto Alejandro Rodriguez, Danny Rolph, Piers Secunda, and Pedro Vizcaino.  The exhibit is intended to be the first in an annual series of curated group shows dedicated to displaying works on paper by a variety of international artists.  Works on paper have always had a particular appeal of their own, a liminal status in the continuum of physical objects from sculpture to fresco to mural to canvas.  Writing in October, the critic Ewa Lajer-Burcharth noted that the medium

acquired in the 18th century an altogether different status and meaning: It came to be recognized as an autonomous artistic form; an index of the artist’s personal style; an object of aesthetic contemplation and critical reflection; and, ultimately, a commodity. 

Just as the works here display a wide range of styles, media, and approaches, so too do they fit into the various ontological categories suggested by Lajer-Burcharth. That versatility, that plasticity of expressiveness, is in the end the source of their vitality and appeal. With “Good on Paper,” we have a concise summary and vivid snapshot of the aesthetics of our shared moment.