Good on Paper: Drawings and Paintings, an exhibition of works on paper at 532 Gallery, presents new work by fourteen contemporary artists: Alberto A. Rodriguez, Carlos R. Cardenas, Danny Rolph, Diana Copperwhite, Henry Mandell, Ian Hughes, Jean-Guerly Pétion, John A. Parks, Julie Langsam, Paco Marcial, Pedro Vizcaino, Per Adolfsen, Piers Secunda, and Susana Guerrero. The exhibit is intended to be the first in an annual series of group shows dedicated to displaying works on paper by the artists of 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel.
Works on paper have always had a particular appeal of their own, a liminal status in the continuum of physical objects from sculpture to fresco to mural to canvas. Writing in October, the critic Ewa Lajer-Burcharth noted that the medium
acquired in the 18th century an altogether different status and meaning: It came to be recognized as an autonomous artistic form; an index of the artist’s personal style; an object of aesthetic contemplation and critical reflection; and, ultimately, a commodity.
Just as the works here display a wide range of styles, media, and approaches, so too do they fit into the various ontological categories suggested by Lajer-Burcharth. That versatility, that plasticity of expressiveness, is in the end the source of their vitality and appeal. With Good on Paper, we have a concise summary and vivid snapshot of the aesthetics of our shared moment.
