COLOR-TIME-SPACE at Lohin Geduld & Janet Kurnatowski

Kim Uchiyama,Untitled, 2009, 19 x 14 inches, oil on canvas

Joanne Freeman, Bent, 2009, 20 x 25 inches, oil & wax on canvas

Acknowledged affinities between painting and music must surely be prehistoric in origin -- being, along with movement/dance, among the most elemental of human impulses. Of course abstract painting has always been talked about in musical terms, specifically aligned with music as a parallel language. This analogy has mostly been perpetuated not by critics but by artists themselves because indeed the process of manipulating the formal dynamics of the two ineffable substances, color and sound, is virtually the same.

The postulation of abstract painting as a "musical" idiom is the theme of two simultaneous shows under one title, Color-Time-Space, at Lohin Geduld in Chelsea and Janet Kurnatowski in Brooklyn through October 10. Curated by painters Joanne Freeman and Kim Uchiyama, and drawn primarily, but not entirely, from the stables of the two galleries, this is a lively and yes, musical show of small abstract, mostly geometric, paintings. Featuring the work of 13 painters, each offering a distinct illumination of the theme, the show is more than anything a resounding affirmation of the vitality of abstract painting. Some of the many outstanding works include a reprise of new Thornton Willis paintings that we saw at Elizabeth Harris last season, the funky configurations and lustrous surfaces of Laurie Fendrich, Julie Gross' exquisite color and rhythmic circle motifs, and juicy open-ended gestural works by James Biederman. For me, the big surprise was the work of Kazimira Rachfal.

Kazimira Rachfal, in a certain sense (iva), 2009, 18 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

Kazimira Rachfal, so to speak (iva), 2009, 17 x 7 3/4 inches, oil on canvas

A bit more stark than the other work in the show, her small abstractions are finely tuned poetic configurations in which the perfectly proportioned shapes, the layered oil surface, and the verticle format engage to form a sort of perpetual, slightly shifting tension -- like a long, deeply resonant, modulated hum.

NO CHROMOPHOBIA at OK Harris

Julie Gross, Her-O, 48" x 48", oil on linen

Mary Obering, Quartet, 42" x 84" x 3", egg tempera & gold leaf on gesso panel

Marthe Keller, Gelb Greem Girl, 58" x 59", acrylic on canvas

Joanne Mattera, Uttar 229, 18" x 18", encaustic on panel

Large group shows are notoriously uneven and sprawling, reflecting the difficulty of assembling more than a few artists with a shared sensibility. A remarkable exception is the new show called “No Chromophobia” at OK Harris. Curated by Richard Witter, this show focuses on color as content in abstract painting, and brings together thirty three painters in a stunning array of discerning concept and sensuous chroma. I do not know all the artists in the show, but it appears that there are no careering youngsters here. This is a group of seasoned mid-career painters who have developed their respective processes through years of rigorous refinement. There is a conspicuous absence of irony – these artists are engaged in painting not as pastiche, but as a deeply intelligent exploration of visual and tactile properties. In addition to the focus on color, the show is unified and driven by reductive form, and what could be described as succinct construction -- delicate balancing of the analytical and the sensuous -- surfaces and objects that are beautifully and specifically crafted, infused with sagacious knowledge of the medium and the language, with absolutely no fluff – direct painting, deceptive in its simplicity. Looking around the galleries from a distance, this show is a feast for the eyes as the vibrant hues resonate from one piece to the next around the rooms. Up close, the distinctiveness of each artist’s approach presents one rich encounter after another. Anyone who really loves painting would be hard pressed to find a more satisfying group exhibition.