Friday, July 10, 2009

Gary Hume, Yardwork, at Matthew Marks [Photographs & Review]


Gary Hume, Yardwork [Installation views], at Matthew Marks. Photo: 16 Miles











Gary Hume, Bouquet, 2009.

How great is it when you end up being surprised by how much you like a show? Gary Hume lays thick masses of color on his aluminum support, forming delicate little ridges where these shapes meet. The subjects are (at least ostensibly) pro forma - barn doors, bouquets, portraits - but the technique is not. Like John Wesley's portraits, these are austere, otherworldly luxuries. Hume isn't as sensual as Wesley, but his minute, delicate details (the outline of a girl's chin, the petals of roses) suggest that - though colder - he may be more interested in intimacy. It is a persuasive, beautiful performance. Yardwork, at the gallery with what may be the best lighting in Chelsea, closes today.

Gary Hume
522 West 22nd Street
New York, New York
Through July 10, 2009

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