Dana Schutz’s new work is overflowing with narrative possibilities. It’s great to see an artist with diverse subject matter – masks, parrots, saxophones, and pitchforks populate her pictorial vocabulary. The introduction of sculpture suits her subjects well, Schutz brings the subjects of her paintings into fully realized three dimensional tableaus. She has a very physical approach to the material. There’s a brief video below from the Louisiana Channel showing her approach and thoughts about branching out to sculpture. I believe there’s a video on Zwirner’s site showing her creating the sculptures for this show but I got lost in the navigation. Zwirner does include some shots of the “artist at work” which includes a book on Picasso splayed open on a workbench. I’m seeing less Picasso and more Expressionism from these pieces – specifically Oskar Kokoschka. The paint handling, the rendering of figures with enlarged heads, the parrots! It’s a good fit and lends her work a personal touch that aligns well with her subject matter.
Dana Schutz: Jupiter’s Lottery at David Zwirner
Nov 2 – Dec 16, 2023
https://www.davidzwirner.com/exhibitions/2023/dana-schutz-jupiters-lottery
