Advertisement
Stay in the Loop
BSR publishes on a weekly schedule, with an email newsletter every Wednesday and Thursday morning. There’s no paywall, and subscribing is always free.
The frost is on the pond
Kurt Moyer's "Bathers and Landscapes' at Gross McCleaf
Kurt Moyer's work exudes a pleasantly traditional feel. The largest works in this show hearken back to early-20th-Century art— the increasingly abstract landscapes of Claude Monet on the one hand, and the Arcadian fantasies of Ker-Xavier Roussel and the Nabis on the other.
It's pleasant work, easy on the eyes, soothing to the nerves. If you believe the purpose of art is to give pleasure, this is your type of art. I don't say this facetiously. One of art's principal purposes is give pleasure to the viewer.
Yes, there's plenty of room for art that challenges and excites. Gross McCleaf's companion show, "The New Moderns," is a fine example of that.
But sometimes you just want to look at something that helps you to unwind, something that you can lose yourself in. This is what Moyer offers.
Even a smallish work like his Mayapples can set the mind to wandering in its mini-jungle from which the flowers grow. Moyer's showpieces— Morning on Frost Pond, Midday on Frost Pond and Seven Bathers in the Glen will draw you in by their sheer size alone.
"The New Moderns," conversely, offers up a group of artists who are working in Abstract Art, which they pursue with varying degrees of fidelity. I liked the works by Lauren Garvey, but they were the least hard-core of this group.
Her painting, Salt Winds, was chosen as the signature piece for the exhibition. So if you like it, you'll probably enjoy the show as a whole. If it leaves you cold— well, you can always fall back on Moyer's Arcadian bathers.
It's pleasant work, easy on the eyes, soothing to the nerves. If you believe the purpose of art is to give pleasure, this is your type of art. I don't say this facetiously. One of art's principal purposes is give pleasure to the viewer.
Yes, there's plenty of room for art that challenges and excites. Gross McCleaf's companion show, "The New Moderns," is a fine example of that.
But sometimes you just want to look at something that helps you to unwind, something that you can lose yourself in. This is what Moyer offers.
Even a smallish work like his Mayapples can set the mind to wandering in its mini-jungle from which the flowers grow. Moyer's showpieces— Morning on Frost Pond, Midday on Frost Pond and Seven Bathers in the Glen will draw you in by their sheer size alone.
"The New Moderns," conversely, offers up a group of artists who are working in Abstract Art, which they pursue with varying degrees of fidelity. I liked the works by Lauren Garvey, but they were the least hard-core of this group.
Her painting, Salt Winds, was chosen as the signature piece for the exhibition. So if you like it, you'll probably enjoy the show as a whole. If it leaves you cold— well, you can always fall back on Moyer's Arcadian bathers.
What, When, Where
Kurt Moyer: “Bathers and Landscapes.†Through September 30, 2012 at Gross McCleaf Gallery, 127 South 16th St. (215) 665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
Sign up for our newsletter
All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.
