Max Kozloff reviews Florine Stettheimer's exhibition at the Jewish Museum in artcritical

Max Kozloff examines the ethics of prettiness in Florine Stettheimer's work in his debut piece for artcritical. The exhibition at the Jewish Museum features Stettheimer's paintings, which are noted for their rhythmic lines and limbs set against nebulous white backgrounds. These compositions often lack narrative pretext, instead evoking a gem-like aura reminiscent of illuminated manuscript capitals. Stettheimer's figures, when in motion, recall the snap of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers routines in Hollywood films, and choreographer Busby Berkeley would have found them congenial, if slightly loose. The artist was beguiled by glamor, applying its effects to decorate both private and public festivities. Her works depict environments such as fashion runways, cocktail parties, and picnics on the grass, garnished with twitching vines and outsized flowers, serving as diarist memories. Kozloff's review, titled 'Pretty, Ugly, Beautiful: Florine Stettheimer at the Jewish Museum,' was published on August 9, 2017.