STEVEN ALEXANDER J O U R N A L: DON VOISINE at McKenzie

9.6.15

DON VOISINE at McKenzie

Don Voisine, Narrows, 2015, 40 x 60 inches, oil on wood panel

One more week to see an exhibition of new paintings by Don Voisine at McKenzie Fine Art (through June 14, 2015). For many years Voisine has worked with variations on his trademark configuration, originally evolved from architectural structures and floor plans. It is comprised of a complex set of vectors, angles, shapes and surfaces, with a central black area that is contained and activated by thin brightly colored perimeter bands. The black of the central area consists of matte and glossy contrasts that create shifting planes when viewed from different vantage points (and make the paintings virtually impossible to photograph).

For this exhibition, Voisine has expanded his vocabulary to feature a few new elements that perhaps lighten the "gravity" of his previous work, and really offer an alternative relationship to the viewer, giving the show as a whole a more lively cadence. Many of the new pieces substitute intense Cad Red or sometimes shifting whites for the central black area, which causes a dramatic change in the space and presence of the painting. Whereas the black area seems to absorb the surrounding space, pulling the viewer into a deep slow vortex bordered by flickering color; the paintings that feature a red center emanate outward into the space, pulsating and expanding. As do the white paintings, although in a softer, more subtle voice. So as we move through the exhibition, we have a constantly changing relationship to the paintings from one to the next.

Another subtle change in this new work is the introduction of small areas of rubbed out color, where we see through the frontal paint film to the surface of the substrate. This small element is an opening that allows a soft breath to enter the rigor of Voisine's geometry. It is emblematic of the whole show, as the artist explores a broader sensuality within the sharp focus of his vision.