R.H. Quaytman's Conceptual Paintings Challenge Modernist Viewing in 2010 Whitney Biennial
R.H. Quaytman's artwork, including her paintings and silkscreens, contests Frank Stella's assertion from 1964 that "what you see is what you see." Her exhibitions are structured like chapters, showcasing silk-screening on gessoed wood alongside hand-painted abstract symbols in industrial spinel black. Quaytman explores architectural elements, incorporates Op art designs, and alters visuals using diverse methods. In 2008, at Miguel Abreu Gallery, she combined a painting with an office lamp in Chapter 12: iamb. Chapter 15, presented in 2009 at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art, featured designs drawn from the museum's collection. For the 2010 Whitney Biennial, she exhibited Distracting Distance, Chapter 16, which alluded to Edward Hopper's A Woman in the Sun (1961). Quaytman also co-directed Orchard, located on New York's Lower East Side.
Key facts
- R.H. Quaytman's paintings challenge Frank Stella's modernist view that "what you see is what you see"
- Her exhibitions are organized as sequential chapters with dialogical works
- Works combine silk-screening on gessoed wood and hand-painted abstract pictograms using spinel black
- She often documents architectural features of exhibition sites and uses Op art motifs
- Chapter 12: iamb (2008) at Miguel Abreu Gallery paired a painting with an office lamp to study spectatorship
- Exhibition Guide, Chapter 15 (2009) at Boston's ICA used museum collection motifs and signage colors
- Distracting Distance, Chapter 16 (2010) in the Whitney Biennial features K8 Hardy referencing Edward Hopper
- Quaytman previously co-directed Orchard gallery on New York's Lower East Side for three years
Entities
Artists
- R.H. Quaytman
- Frank Stella
- Daniel Buren
- Robert Rauschenberg
- Andy Warhol
- K8 Hardy
- Edward Hopper
Institutions
- Miguel Abreu Gallery
- Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
- Whitney Biennial
- Orchard
- ArtReview
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Boston
- Lower East Side