Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst, "Cupric Nitrate," 2007 via Gagosian Gallery

Gagosian Gallery is holding a worldwide exhibition of Damien Hirst’s spot paintings across all eleven locations in London, Paris, Los Angeles, Rome, Athens, Geneva, Hong Kong, and New York. The single exhibition The Complete Spot Paintings: 1986-2011 includes 331 paintings amassed by 150 private individuals and public institutions in 20 countries. The collective effort feels appropriate for the nature of the visuals it assembled.

Each painting depicts an evenly spaced grid, or ring, of perfect circles. Because of Hirst’s variations in number, color, and scale, this simple idea is actually quite versatile as it transforms from precious to colossal. One painting contains 25,781 1-millimeter wide spots of unrepeated colors. One contains only four, each 5 feet wide. Most canvasses are rectangular, and contain a grid of evenly spaced spots. Circular canvasses that comprise the same arrangement take on the illusion of three dimensions. Some pack the spots into rings of concentric circles so tightly, they cross the eyes like a color blindness test.

Hirst describes this collection simply as “a way of pinning down the joy of color,” but it seems there’s more at play. His repeated composition acts as a control for a visual experiment. Such a multitude of paintings that alter only number, color, and scale offers a sort of lesson in the principles of abstraction. It’s not long before some canvasses stand out among the rest, some fade. And it’s not as clear as picking out the extremes in any one category.

The commercial palatability of Hirst’s worldwide extravaganza invites cynicism, which certainly resonates at times. The gift shop of spotted merchandise, from cuff links to iron-on patches, adds to the feeling. Regardless of intention or effect, the sheer magnitude of this exhibition makes it an event worth seeing.

“The Complete Spot Paintings: 1986-2011” is on view at Gagosian Galleries in Chelsea and the Upper East Side through February 18^th.

Lisa Yuskavage

Lisa Yuskavage "Afternoon Feeding" 2011, via David Zwirner

In a contemporary art environment that shies away from figurative representation, Philadelphia-born Lisa Yuskavage boldly paints female nudes and has created her own cast of signature plush, erotic, brooding, youthful characters. In her latest exhibition at David Zwirner, Yuskavage has enlarged her usual scale to dimensions a viewer must walk across to see in full, a development that likely goes hand in hand with her more prevalent use of vast landscape.

A toxic yellow-green smoggy glow envelopes her fertile figures, who coyly display and contemplate themselves as cartoonish but dangerous Lolitas. But these are not simply portraits. Yuskavage’s works contain entire cinematic scenes filled with art historical references. Her process as of late usually begins with free association that reveals itself to be symbolic. Yuskavage then grabs hold of this glimmer and enhances it into a flash.

The highlight of the exhibition is Yuskavage’s first triptych, which began as a single panel and evolved organically into a more than 25-foot-long piece. A very personal interview with the artist in this season’s issue of BOMB Magazine details her artistic journey so far, including pivotal advice that emboldened her to bring her own provocative personality to her paintings. Read the transcript here.

Lisa Yuskavage is now on view at David Zwirner in Chelsea until November 5^th.

Lisa Nankivil: Lines of Inference

Lisa Nankivil, The Aerialist, 2011 via Spanierman Modern

Abstractionist Lisa Nankivil might wake up feeling green one day. She begins there, then walks away for a while, returns, and continues improvising until she completes another lush, colorful world. In her latest exhibition Lines of Inference, Nankivil creates stripes with brushes aided by blades, squeegees, planks of cardboard and wood, and a T-square on wheels. Sometimes she scrapes and smudges lines together, or drips paint and lets gravity do the work. The varied tones of paint and techniques of application produce a clear tension between surface and deep space. At the same time the consistency of lines in an innumerable rainbow of solid, blended, bright, and muted colors create a contrast of order and chaos. A completely different viewing experience emerges as the viewer steps away and fine lines become indiscernible.

See a complete gallery of works from Lines of Inference and an interview with Nankivil.

Lines of Inference is now on view at Spainerman Modern in Midtown through September 2^nd.