Fred Tomaselli: Christopher Grimes • Santa Monica
Finally, Fred Tomaselli’s newest
body of work not only pumped up the volume on variability, but continues
to amp his imaginative prowess. His eye candy and eye-tripping paintings
are always most powerful when they double as illustrations and expressions
of psychedelia. Most memorable were dilated restrictor (large), whose
total bloodshot format is reminiscent of the day after some regrettable
party; untitled (rug), whose vertical-stripe simplicity invites the viewer
to follow many paths, and alpine diptych, whose overall patterning of
Pennsylvania Dutch-like motifs camouflaged detailed images of organs.
Having presented these mini-summaries of these recent bodies of work,
it seems that the next logical step would have been to assign them to
the various categories: hyperfeminine or hypermasculine, ultrafeminine
or bachelor, and antifeminine or antimasculine. However, what this mini-analysis
has revealed instead is how these categories cross over and how the various
artists flip between them. To map an artist to such a category ultimately
seems too stifling and meaningless. The artists who seem antifeminine
or ultrafeminine may just spring hyperfeminine next season, and vice versa.
These categories may enable us to understand where a painter’s been
or where they seem to be, but they will never enable us to predict the
next body of work, which is essentially the mark of a strong artist. A
strong artist has the courage to pick and choose as they like, so that
they construct the pictures they want to see, rather than follow trends
or patterns that others designate as the winning look.Sue Spaid
Los Angeles, California
1996