Dan Christensen's Plaid Paintings Exhibition at Spanierman Modern in 2009

Spanierman Modern in New York City presented an exhibition of Dan Christensen's "plaid paintings" from October 13 to November 14, 2009. These works were created between 1969 and 1971, following his earlier spray paintings that gained attention in the 1960s. The exhibition featured paintings like "Baze" (1969), a vertical composition with crimson, hot pink, scarlet, chartreuse, peach, and brown bands creating a cheerful mood. "Dark Tulip" (1970) is a large horizontal piece with charcoal gray, blue-green, night purple, brown, Kelly green, and forest green elements, evoking a solemn atmosphere. Another work, "Untitled" (1970), combines deep red, pale black, whitish-lemon, bright orange, bright green, and bright yellow in a sturdy composition. Christensen, who died in 2007 at age 64 from heart failure due to polymyositis, developed a distinctive style where broad color bands and rectangles created plaid-like effects without traditional crisscross patterns. His technique blended painterly and geometric approaches, producing straight edges with vitality. The plaid paintings offered a calmer, more serene alternative to the energetic spray works that had been featured in Time magazine in 1969 and Newsweek in 1968.