Review: Work by Pat Steir
by Dan Grossman/Nuvo Newsweekly
4 stars
Garvey|Simon Art Access. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, you can't step into the same river twice. This aphorism might apply to Pat Steir's series of waterfall prints as well; although her approach is similar in all of them, each is unique. Steir often throws paint on her canvases and lets it drip down. While her methods might seem Abstract Expressionist in the Jackson Pollock bent, the result is anything but. The paint is driven downward by gravity, like water, and thus representational in the most literal sense. In her photogravure print "August Waterfall," the paint is white against a black background and it almost seems as if you are viewing a photographic negative. (In fact, the printing process involves a negative transferred onto an etching plate.)The New York-based Steir has had a long and illustrious career as an artist. Her work spans the latter half of the last century to the present and the nine prints on display here are a small sampling of her overall work.One of the works on display, entitled "July 14th 2001," gives you a hint of the enormous range and conceptual depth of this artist.The movement of the while lines against black in this etching is circular, invoking the effect of gravity on a grand scale, perhaps, or the circularity of history appreciated at the easel in one inspired moment.Through Nov. 27; 317-844-7278, www.garvey-simon-art-access.com.
Garvey|Simon Art Access. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, you can't step into the same river twice. This aphorism might apply to Pat Steir's series of waterfall prints as well; although her approach is similar in all of them, each is unique. Steir often throws paint on her canvases and lets it drip down. While her methods might seem Abstract Expressionist in the Jackson Pollock bent, the result is anything but. The paint is driven downward by gravity, like water, and thus representational in the most literal sense. In her photogravure print "August Waterfall," the paint is white against a black background and it almost seems as if you are viewing a photographic negative. (In fact, the printing process involves a negative transferred onto an etching plate.)The New York-based Steir has had a long and illustrious career as an artist. Her work spans the latter half of the last century to the present and the nine prints on display here are a small sampling of her overall work.One of the works on display, entitled "July 14th 2001," gives you a hint of the enormous range and conceptual depth of this artist.The movement of the while lines against black in this etching is circular, invoking the effect of gravity on a grand scale, perhaps, or the circularity of history appreciated at the easel in one inspired moment.Through Nov. 27; 317-844-7278, www.garvey-simon-art-access.com.
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