The success of each of Kelly’s works hinge upon decisions that appear simple, which is where the magic lies in these paintings. Kelly presents the viewer with decisions that merge to create a special energy within each work. The quiet intelligence in these decisions allows viewers to immerse themselves fully into Kelly’s world. When viewing his works I always think of the planning process, what goes into making these. There is a great vulnerability in minimalism; a pressure to have the work succeed with the most basic of tools and decisions can be overwhelming. When success is achieved the reward is unrivaled. Kelly guides the viewer with his confidence and grace through shape and color.

Kelly’s surfaces and the physicality of the works are complex and appealing. The uniformity within his color fields are painterly, yet restrained. When you discover a brush hair buried amongst the paint it’s a welcome surprise and reminder of how hand made these paintings truly are. The subtleties and nuances that Kelly is able to achieve through works that are bold in nature is the mark of a painter that has joined an elite few.

As you look at the body of Kelly’s work that now stretch the course of a lifetime, you see a strong determination and singular vision that has developed throughout decades. His visual language has progressed, while maintaining the course and never compromising. His career as a painter and the outstanding works he has produced can only serve as a great source of inspiration for the next generation of painters.

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Image courtesy of Kansas Gallery

Sreshta Rit Premnath
January 25 – March 1, 2014
Kansas Gallery
59 Franklin Street
New York City
kansasgallery.com

The post Sreshta Rit Premnath at Kansas Gallery appeared first on NY Arts Magazine.

1. Morag Keil, Potpourri at Cubitt Gallery, London
Consisting of a single video that was also available online, positioning a visit to the space as nearly redundant. snippets of dialog from a celeb sex tape rehearsed in mundane settings who’s filming seemed alternately meticulous and distracted. HD/SD. Choices. A strobe light held on a moving motorcycle.  This video somehow unsettled me more than anything I’ve seen recently on /b/. The title ‘Potpourri’ recalling the proximity of media culture to scented toilets.

2. Raymond Pettibon, Human Wave at SPACE, London
In a year filled with vacuous formalism masquerading as network kitsch, this show of the artist’s lesser known videos was a breath of punk smog. The degraded quality of the VHS originals seemed to ridicule the current vogue for early digital crap as an after­effect. Kim and Thurston rating and smashing records. Quasi­religious ceremonies filled with howling. Perfectly installed with a collection of random office chairs as seating.

3. Georgie Nettell at Project Native Informant, London
A show that was aggressively indifferent to itself. Variations of serialised works, printed on canvass in colour schemes to match the galleries’ textures.  Sections of the drywall theatrically removed as if to say, ‘work is here’. Everywhere a palpable urge to go on. Nowhere any horizon to meet.

4. Megan Rooney, Everything’s the same this is my dream at Baustelle Schaustelle, Essen
The weirdest show I saw this year achieved an uneasy levity. A bronze cheetah borrowed from Europe’s largest brothel was both present and depicted in scores of tender watercolors. A wall text rendered in faux­ teenage girl handwriting described a moment in said club suspended between enlightenment and existential crisis. Plato’s cave redecorated.

5. Bea Schlingellhof, Onaboat at AP News, Zurich
The glass exterior walls of this shopping mall-­located gallery were covered by blue­washed posters emblazoned with ‘TOD’, German for death. Inside people smoked vigorously, pursued some racist books and watched a film on Jacques Cousteau. The artist produced a pointed discourse about gender and exploration that evaded localization in an object, or terra firma.

See top 5’s from other NY Arts contributors here. Paul’s past work can be found here.

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