Tim Lefens |
by Jeanne C. Wilkinson |
The works on paper also have texture around the edges, but it rises abruptly instead of organically
from the flat plane. The entire surfaces are sprayed with subtle layers of paint, giving them a look of
high relief. Lefens' paintings are like recent work of Jules Olitski, the artist who was called the best
living painter by Clement Greenberg in his later years. Mr. Greenberg had decided at that time that the
best art rose from the picture plane, defying flatness and two-dimensionality with heavy rifts of
texture. Mr. Lefens' work was also well known and appreciated by the late art critic.
But the works on paper in this exhibition do not have the integrity of surface that make the paintings
work so well — they seem somewhat forced. The paintings, on the other hand, are part of a
continuing tradition within abstraction, with their own particular and appealing presence.
Editor's Note: This Gallery is open to the public noon to six, Mon.-Fri.
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