James Biederman, Zing, 2010, 22 x 22 inches, oil on linen
James Biederman, Ventriloquist, 2010, 22 x 20 inches, oil on linenJust opened at Janet Kurnatowski (through June 6) is a group of new small paintings by James Biederman. The products of time spent in a remote Andean village in Colombia, these works literally ooze with rich color and viscous substance. Not unlike the deep vegetation of the rainforest, the paintings are dense and lush, built by layering successive open gestural configurations to achieve a teeming allover space -- a packed concentration of color and motion. The configurations, no doubt distilled from landscape, vary greatly from one painting to the next, and all possess a juicy spontaneity. We can feel the physical sensation of the brush moving through and across the oily surface, and sense the connection between the painter and the moment of each gesture. In the back room is a small portfolio filled with amazing drawings that are as raw as the paintings are refined. Each drawing is the reinvention of a process, a deeply felt response to a deeply observed world.
