Joan Becker and others at Gross McCleaf

A dozen pieces by Joan Becker, large gouache on paper images of people and things, highlight this month’s exhibitions. My first impression was one of color and clutter. Two large still life studies depict “stuff”— household things in their natural state—piled up and crammed in ways that are both appropriate and inappropriate, but affording wonderful opportunities for artistic expression of color and line.

Becker’s eight large images of people, mostly couples, have a certain timeless quality. Like those couples sculpted on Etruscan sarcophagi lids, these are “in repose,” even when tapping away on their laptops. (These are spread out over two floors of the exhibit.)

The Becker pieces I liked the best were her floral studies. These were more controlled, chaos masquerading as control. If I say they reminded me of old-fashioned wallpaper I’m not trying to be clever at the artist’s expense. On the contrary, I greatly admire the nameless artisans who created those designs, and I admire Becker’s modern reworking of the notion as well.

Becker’s works are on display in the back gallery on Gross-McCleaf’s main floor. In the front gallery, there is a sort of “previews of coming attractions,” focusing on the work of artists with long-standing connections to Gross-McCleaf. On the upper level there are the remaining Becker gouaches plus five of Celia Reisman’s unique pieces, which are neither landscapes nor urban scenes but partake of the qualities of both.

Lastly there are five beautifully classical landscapes in the Impressionist manner by Naomi Chung. These pieces alone are worth a visit.