Shapeshifters Exhibition at Luhring Augustine Explores Non-Rectangular Painting Supports

Luhring Augustine in New York presented 'Shapeshifters,' a group exhibition from June 27 to August 12, 2016, featuring 19 artists who challenge traditional rectangular painting formats. The show highlighted shaped canvases as a formal development, with works spanning from the 1960s to 2016. Key pieces included David Novros's multipanel painting 4:30 (1966/2000), which uses modular panels to create architectural interactions, and Blinky Palermo's small black triangle Untitled (1966) placed above a doorway, altering spatial perception. Artists like Martin Kippenberger, Richard Tuttle, and Steven Parrino incorporated gaps within their paintings to expose the wall, while Ruth Root combined materials like fabric and Plexiglas in diagonal arrangements. Jeremy DePerez built up material to define shape, and Imi Knobel's Kartoffelbild 15 (2012) used forms to set external perimeters. Joanna Pousette-Dart's 3 Part Variation #5 (2011–13) featured seamless conjoined rounded forms with compelling color relationships. The exhibition argued against the necessity of standard rectangles, suggesting alternatives for further exploration, with notable absences like Joe Overstreet, Alan Shields, and Al Loving mentioned. Located at 531 West 24th Street, the show moved beyond Michael Fried's 1967 critique of objecthood, emphasizing playful and compositional approaches to painting as object.