AROUND THE GALLERIES
Finding joy in the painting medium
By Christopher Knight,
Times Art Critic
June 13, 2008
In four large, splashy paintings, Nathan Redwood animates his second solo show at Carl Berg Gallery with a peculiar liquidity. Acrylic paint as a fluid substance turns into a self-descriptive metaphor.
A swoop of blue color ends in outstretched fingers, portraying the artist's hand. A big serpentine interlace of brush strokes is held up by Dali-esque scaffolding, while a golden loop turns into a blaring horn. Paint is pictorial architecture; color has sound.
There's something of the sorcerer's apprentice in these symphonic works -- a joyful madness expressed at the way painting's magic exerts a disobedient life of its own. Redwood seems to be happily wrestling, dancing and arguing with his practice. Amid the chaos and playful wreckage, the exuberance is disarming.
Carl Berg Gallery,