New York's (Extended) Minimal Moment

New York is enjoying an extended minimal moment this fall. Although it’s been over half a century since reductive work made its first appearance, Minimalism’s "Greatest Hits" (and some current favorites) are playing all over town. Is there something in the ether that has provoked a spate of related shows at the same time? Or, as in fashion, is it simply a cycle whose time has come round again? Whatever the reason, there was and is a lot to see—and this is not an oxymoron.

Eve Hesse: Sculpture
Eva Hesse’s long-overdue retrospective, Eva Hesse: Sculpture, curated by Elizabeth Sussman and installed at the Jewish Museum this summer (May 12-September 17), seems to have been the catalyst.

Installation of Eva Hesse: Sculpture at the Jewish Museum, Nw York City, May 12-September 17, 2006

The Jewish Museum located on Fifth Avenue’s Museum Mile, is no MoMA—there’s just one large U-shaped gallery and the ceiling is too low. Still, this was the institution that made a commitment to showing Hesse’s oeuvre. I was grateful to see this work in one place. As an art student in the late sixties, I remember seeing Hesse’s work around town and periodically after that at MoMA until the work’s fragility required it to be archivally sequestered. Here, it’s everything I remember and more……

For the rest of this report, click onto my collaborative blog, Two Artists Talking.
In addition to reporting on "Eva Hesse: Sculpture," I talk about two gallery exhibitions, "Elemental Forms" at L&M Arts, and "Minimalism: On and Off Paper," and finish with "Brice Marden: A Retrospective of Paintings and Drawings" at the Museum of Modern Art.

Brice Marden: Grove Group IV, oil and beeswax on canvs; two panels, overall 72" by 9', 1976