Charline von Heyl's Recent Paintings at Petzel Gallery Showcase Mature Synthesis

Charline von Heyl presents seventeen recent paintings, mostly from 2017 or 2018, at Petzel Gallery in New York from September 6 to October 20, 2018. This exhibition highlights a newly mature synthesis of her artistic concerns, developed since her student days in Germany during the 1980s. Von Heyl's method mixes motifs and styles to subvert traditions, creating fresh visual possibilities. Early-1990s works featured flat planes with loose brushstrokes and motifs like palettes and mushrooms. Recent paintings include stripes, stars, and a schematic female profile repeated in three works. In 'Dial P for Painting' (2017), a scrawled rotary phone on a yellow field becomes a cliché. 'Corrido' (2018) displays layered purples and greens with dancing curves and festoons, uniting flat patterns and drippy washes. 'Mana Hatta' (2017) references Native American names and Walt Whitman's poem, with squiggles outlining leaping rabbits and red dots reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein. Red splotches and concentric circles evoke Robert and Sonia Delaunay's discs and Jasper Johns's targets. These elements cohere to challenge expectations of wholeness and beauty. Von Heyl's work nods to Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, and kitsch as a source of raw emotion, moving beyond graphic quirkiness to a looser, freer handling of paint and composition.