Paddy Reviews the Brice Marden Exhibition

Brice Marden, Cold Mountain 6 (Bridge) 1989-91, Oil on linen

I know that Paddy and I are like the sick-making mututal admiration society and wouldn’t we just shut up already, come on… but I freakin’ love her smart, sharp and insightful review of the Marden retrospective at MoMA. I wish that there was more criticism like this in print medai. What’s the dealio, yo?*

An excerpt, which was particularly interesting to me because as a gallerist I obsess over presentation and don’t find this type of discussion mind-glazing at all:

I know it sounds like the ultimate in tedium to discuss such matters as exhibition display and framing quality, but you really can’t avoid talking about it when it lends such weight and authority to the drawings and prints section of the exhibition on the third floor. I won’t bore you all with the technical details, except to say that work is all housed in the same cream frames and float mounted, and hung using a method used by the collector and curator David Whitney which involves hanging the bottom third of the work at 43 inches (which is low). I’m quite certain Marden would not appreciate the analogy, but because the works are hung at roughly the same height as the dividing Venetian trim on a wall, the viewer has a much more intimate relationship with the work, and is forced to consider the each drawing and print individually.

You should read the whole thing, because it’s great and because it makes you want to go see the show even though it’s not a resoundingly positive review. (Which is refreshing unto me as Mr. Marden has received oh so much slavish coverage about the retrospective to date.)

* I have a lot to say about this issue, with print media criticism and the moribundity thereof, and I’m going to say it at some point soon even though it’s probably ill-advised. But you know, I am a woman with opinions and I’ve got some ideas about solutions because I’m the sort to speak up about issues and do something about it too.