Abstraction brings the world into more complex, variable relations; it can extract beauty, alternative topographies, ugliness, and intense actualities from seeming nothingness. Jerry Saltz abstractionactualityalternative Change image and share on social
Our culture now wonderfully, alchemically transforms images and history into artistic material. The possibilities seem endless and wide open. Jerry Saltz alchemicallyartisticculture Change image and share on social
Calling a young artist 'great' these days can give one the heebie-jeebies: The word has been denatured in the past decade. Jerry Saltz artistcallday Change image and share on social
Too many younger artists, critics, and curators are fetishizing the sixties, transforming the period into a deformed cult, a fantasy religion, a hip brand, and a crippling disease. Jerry Saltz artistbrandcripple Change image and share on social
I often find myself privately stewing about much British art, thinking that except for their tremendous gardens, that the English are not primarily visual artists, and are, in nearly unsurpassable ways, literary. Jerry Saltz artartistbritish share on social
Early-twentieth-century abstraction is art's version of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. It's the idea that changed everything everywhere: quickly, decisively, for good. Jerry Saltz abstractionartcentury Change image and share on social
Mark Grotjahn's large new paintings abound with torrents of ropy impasto, laid down in thickets, cascading waves, and bundles that swell, braid around, or overlap one another. Jerry Saltz aboundbraidbundle Change image and share on social
Art usually only makes the news in America when the subject is money. Jerry Saltz americaartmake Change image and share on social
Artschwager's art always involves looking closely at surfaces, questions what an object is, wants to make you forget the name of the thing you're looking at so that it might mushroom in your mind into something that triggers unexpected infinities. Jerry Saltz artartschwagerclosely share on social
I love Rauschenberg. I love that he created a turning point in visual history, that he redefined the idea of beauty, that he combined painting, sculpture, photography, and everyday life with such gall, and that he was interested in, as he put it, 'the ability to conceive failure as progress.' Jerry Saltz abilitybeautycombine share on social