The Phatory
618 East 9th Street, between B and C, 212-777-7922
East Village / Lower East Side
March 3 - April 7, 2007
Reception: Saturday, March 3, 7 - 9 PM
Web Site
Paesaggio an installation of works on paper and board by Robert Schatz. Though the show is comprised of paintings it could also be titled liquid drawings, as the pieces in it recall the arabesque lettering of graffiti artists who scrawl their names across the urban landscape. However, unlike those sprayed-painted arrangements, Schatz’s trails of squiggled lines gather into orgiastic panoramas rather than exaggerated tags. And, while these two styles of painting share similarities, Schatz’s images are not intended to disrupt one’s line of sight. Rather, the interactions between his free-flowing lines and the faintly visible ones of the music paper underneath suggests an orderly conversation between opposing dynamics that ultimately resolve into a triumph of flexibility and movement over rigidity and rut. As one begins to feel animated by these cartooned landscapes, one also feels a desire to linger a while and take in everything these scenic wonderlands offer.