And Then Again…
By Tom Wachunas
As long as I have
your attention, I respectfully request some homework from you. Since it’s
apparent you don’t mind messing around with reading blogs too much, before you
go any further with this entry, please scroll down the page to the Archives
section on the right side of this page and click into the 2011 posts, find the
December 15 entry titled “Liquid Urban Light,” and read it. As always, thanks.
Ted Lawson easily
ranks among this region’s most accomplished and compelling watercolorists.
Period. And if you missed his show which was on view at the Canton Museum of
Art (CMA) from December 2011 to March 2012, do yourself a great service by
seeing his current show at North Canton’s Little Art Gallery, which will be up
until July 14. Period. There, I’m done saying what needs to be said about Ted
Lawson. I believe I’ve more than adequately met my quota of Lawson lauds (which
are richly deserved).
Nahhh, not exactly.
See, I was greatly conflicted about commenting at all on this current showing
only because it comes so closely on the heels of the CMA show. Something told
me that Mr. Lawson would have no really new breakthroughs or big changes in his
work that would warrant any substantially fresh comments beyond the December
post you just kindly reviewed. Turns out I was right, but only to a limited
extent. Without getting into the dicey business of discussing the pros and cons
of over-exposure, I do think artists on the local exhibition circuit need to be
judicious in how often they make a habit of showing what amounts to be
essentially the same stuff.
HOWEVER, at first glance, that only seems to be the case with this latest
Lawson offering. What makes this beautifully
mounted collection of 22 works something other than just a reprise of recently
familiar work, and very worth visiting, is its mini-retrospective scope,
presenting works dating from 2007 and up through five pieces from this year.
It’s a delightfully revelatory reminder that Lawson’s prolific output has
strongly embraced considerably more subjects and stylistic variations than his
recurring, signature Manhattan cityscapes (which largely comprised his CMA
exhibit) would indicate. In a sense, what was ‘old’ has a new resonance here,
and still holds up as significantly fresh.
Part of this renewed
impact comes in noticing how Lawson can imbue his representational scenery with
a purely abstract sensibility, in varying degrees. And I think much of that
sensibility, in turn, rises from his consistently effective employment of all-
white areas and shapes. He uses the white not only for climactic moments of
wonderfully effulgent light, but also for establishing a wholly exciting rhythmic
element that makes his pictures dance.
In his 2012
painting, “Showtime III,” it’s not the puddled hot colors of Broadway traffic
and neon that make the city on a rainy night so spectacular. It’s rather the
mesmerizing lambency, the bold lustre of white. Lawson continues to be wickedly
playful. Period.
Photos: Top: “Showtime
III” (2012) / Middle: “Waiting” (2009) / “Mykonos” (2007)
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