Dear Readers,

 

The journeys artists take in their work is the subject of this month’s issue of The Art Section. How artists work, how place and time are significant factors in this process, and the physicality of the work are all significant to understanding artists and their art.

 

I had the great pleasure of dialoguing with New York Artist David Reed about three of his paintings that were recently exhibited at Gagosian in New York City. The discussion of these pieces is an exploration of the artist’s process and thinking that reveals the intimacy of his relationship to the work. Reed’s paintings have histories; Reed generously describes the process of making them in a conversation that itself is an important documentation of his way of making art.

 

Nicolette Reim writes about Susan Rothenberg’s work from the perspective of her move to New Mexico in 1990. This article was prompted by the recent exhibition of Rothenberg’s work at Sperone Westwater Gallery in New York City (January 9 to February 29, 2020). The exhibition comprised new paintings and also included a work in oil on paper from 1990. Reim interprets Rothenberg’s art through her paintings, her location, and her life.  She takes  a journey through the artist’s work as it changed following her move and as a result of  her connection to the rural life she shares with her spouse, Bruce Nauman, the desert, and her horses.

 

Louis Corrigan has graciously allowed The Art Section to republish his article on Sally Mann’s A Thousand Crossings, originally published by The Alexander Report. Corrigan writes about both the beauty that Mann captures in her photographs and the undertones of the disquieting legacy of the South, particularly Lexington, Virginia where Mann was born and has lived all her life. This exhibition takes us through Mann’s life and her reflection on the juxtaposition of the inherent beauty of the landscape and people with the problematic history so tied to this place. 

 

I have always thought time and place are extremely important factors to understanding almost anything. These articles give the readers of TAS close looks into the work of these three artists and how they make it. It is with great appreciation to the artists and writers that this issue of The Art Section is presented.

 

Many thanks,

Deanna

Deanna Sirlin