Betty Cuningham Gallery's 'Paint it with Black' exhibition reviewed in 2005

A 2005 exhibition at Betty Cuningham Gallery in New York explored black as a central theme, curated by Phong Bui. The show featured works by Forrest Bess, Thomas Nozkowski, Nick Carone, Terry Winters, Philip Guston, Joan Waltemath, Norman Bluhm, Bill Jensen, and Christopher Martin. Bess, a Modernist who exhibited with Betty Parsons from 1949 to 1967, contributed a small untitled painting from around 1952. Nozkowski's 1995 untitled oil displayed luminous egg shapes against dark forms. Carone's undated painting suggested human forms emerging from chaos, while Waltemath's 'Universe is a Square' (1996-99) used materials like iron filings to manipulate black. Bluhm's 'Silent Vamp' (1980) featured ebony forms with vibrant color, and Jensen's 'Black Madonna' (1978) evoked a ghostly, tar-like image. Martin's 2005 piece 'Here (For Wallace Berman and Hilma AF Klimt)' included white inscriptions and a central box. The review, originally published in The New York Sun on July 21, 2005, noted that black is rarely used as a primary color in painting but can create unique grays when mixed. It criticized some jargon in the curation but praised the quality of the paintings on view.