Installation image, Carl Ostendarp, Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York
Photo Credit: Cincala Art Advisory
Located in her new space in Harlem, Elizabeth Dee Gallery showcases the work of Carl Ostendarp, the artist’s fifth solo show at the gallery’s uptown headquarters. The exhibition, divided into two parts, flows effortlessly between the main spaces. Upon entry, the open vestibule introduces the first group of paintings featuring bold text as image and referencing such words as “ACKI,” “ECH!,” and “AHH,” sounds that for some surely evoke the current climate of discontent. Progressing to the rear part of the gallery we find Ostendarp’s gray paintings. Here reside six horizontal large-scale works - their gravitas coming not from their size but rather from the loosely delineated edge where the opaque and thinly applied paints (the semi-transparent portions of these paintings are applied with a mop) meet on each canvas. Although each work is unique, together the paintings form a strong thematic narrative, drawing in the eye to the seeping paint that puddles at the bottom of each canvas. The show will remain on view through February 25th.
-caa