“Al Souza”, Art Papers
By Paul Ryan, ART PAPERS Staunton, Virginia Al Souza’s puzzle “paintings” (Reynolds Gallery, July 10—August 24) are actually assemblages that he constructs from multiple, found jigsaw puzzles. Yet, within the…
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“Look Closely: Todd Hido and Ted Kincaid photograph what isn’t there”, Houston Press
One of the more curious aspects in the history of photography is the quixotic, and lasting, interest in photographing what can’t be seen. No sooner did the daguerreotype confer the ability to capture reality than early enthusiasts began attempting to use the new device to prove the reality of the unreal.
“Moving Pictures”, ARTFORUM
“Al Souza,” Art Papers Magazine
Al Souza’s puzzle “paintings” (Reynolds Gallery, July 10—August 24) are actually assemblages that he constructs from multiple, found jigsaw puzzles. Yet, within the blurred boundaries and permissiveness of our post-painting era, and particularly through the work’s smart (and sometimes accidental) links to various strains of modernist painting, “painting” is an appropriate and perhaps more accurate description. With the exception of two small-scale works each painting in the exhibition, like the startling 18-foot-long The Peaceful Kingdom that was included in the 2000 Whitney Biennial, consists of thousands of related and unrelated puzzle pieces that are assembled and glued together. Obsessive constructions consisting of multiple images, the paintings are object like, turgid oceans possessing islands and partial continents of the pictorial. The rippling, unified space of each composition announces an image-based theme—pop stars, museum masterpieces, cartoon celebrities, the terrain of fast food packaging, postcard landscapes; and, Souza’s playful/critical aestheticization of the material excesses of late capitalism provides conceptual drive.
“Cultural Icons: The Louisiana Paintings of Francis Pavy”, Louisiana Cultural Vistas
If ever the light could transmute itself into sound, or conversely sound into color, the result would resolve itself into a painting rendered by lifelong Louisiana resident Francis X. Pavy of Lafayette. His palette reflects the brilliant sun-imbued hues of South Louisiana.
“Dale Chihuly at Marlborough”, Art in America
Dale Chihuly at Marlborough By Edward Leffingwell (brief article), ART IN AMERICA Dale Chihuly, who in most respects seems to deny himself little in the service of his work, awarded…
“Jim Richard at Arthur Roger”, Art in America
Jim Richard forces together elements of visual culture that are rich in connotations of social hierarchy and the diversity of taste. His paintings are like American food: flat, rich, irradiated and filled with chemical additives.
“As Clear As White and Black”, The Times-Picayune
Barsness’ works look like antique Hindu scrolls, with elephant gods, celestial turtles, intricate mandalas and endless decorative patterns. But straight pseudo-religious iconography they’re not.
“James Barsness: Beastly Beatitudes”, Gambit Weekly
Before TV and computers, we had animals. Domestic beasts aside, animals represented the world beyond the village gate; horses and camels plied the trade routes connecting Europe to Asia, while migrating birds dotted the skies like omens from elsewhere.