Robert Sussman's CUE Art Foundation Exhibition Contrasts with Abstract Expressionist Influences

Robert Sussman's exhibition at CUE Art Foundation in New York presents small-scale paintings that invite contemplative viewing rather than immersive experience. Curated by Thomas Nozkowski, the show features works with recurring calligraphic forms and rectilinear structures, where washy trapezoids interact with colorful grounds. Sussman cites Abstract Expressionists like Willem de Kooning as primary influences, claiming to prioritize experience over conceptualization. However, his compositions often appear schematized, with centralized arrangements and diptych formats emphasizing horizontality. In works like untitled #2, stark black panels sever landscape-like elements, suggesting conceptual fragmentation rather than sensory immediacy. While de Kooning's 1960s-70s paintings use naturalistic color and expansive brushstrokes to create atmospheric depth, Sussman's approach more closely resembles Barnett Newman or Clyfford Still in its compositional insistence. Yet unlike those artists who use monumental scale to engage viewers bodily, Sussman's modest dimensions maintain physical tranquility while demanding intellectual engagement. His inventive paint handling reveals a cerebral core that challenges his stated preference for experience over concept, ultimately exposing the limitations of such dichotomies in contemporary abstraction.