Laura Owens's Whitney exhibition showcases transformative painting from 1990s to 2014
The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York is hosting an exhibition of Laura Owens's work from 10 November to 4 February, featuring nearly thirty years of her artistic journey. The display includes 23 figurative works created between 2003 and 2011, arranged in a salon-style format, as well as her vibrant Day-Glo Pavement Karaoke series from 2012, which consists of five untitled canvases (2.7 by 2 meters) that utilize screenprinting and layered paint techniques. Early pieces, such as Untitled (1997), question the essence of painting, while later works like Untitled (2013) and Untitled (2014) showcase intricate grounds and interventions. This exhibition illustrates her evolution from figurative to abstract art, highlighting her exploration of image-making and the potential of paint, as noted in the January & February 2018 ArtReview.
Key facts
- Laura Owens's exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art ran from 10 November to 4 February
- The show includes 23 figurative works from 2003 to 2011 and the abstract Day-Glo Pavement Karaoke series from 2012
- Five untitled canvases in the series are 2.7 by 2 meters and use screenprinting, paint, and pasted gingham
- Early paintings like Untitled (1997) explore self-reflexive themes about painting's existence
- Works from the early 2000s feature complex grounds with interventions like paint gobs, pumice, and bicycle wheels
- Owens has pursued inquiries into images and painting strategies for nearly 30 years
- The Pavement Karaoke series marks her reembrace of abstraction at the start of the past decade
- The exhibition was reviewed in ArtReview's January & February 2018 issue
Entities
Artists
- Laura Owens
- Dan Flavin
- Elizabeth Peyton
- Austė
Institutions
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- ArtReview
- Dia Beacon
Locations
- New York
- United States