The first I saw of Albert York was a reproduction of Woman With Skeleton (1967) in Calvin Tomkins’ 1995 New Yorker article about the artist. It immediately struck me as the weirdest conventional painting I had ever seen. That is to say, it had an air of familiarity, but was also unexpectedly and deeply strange.

More recently, I have been accused of liking small paintings and, if this is true, it’s probably York’s fault. The sheer volume of psychological information—awkwardness, fear, beauty—contained within his tiny rectangles could dwarf a mural. Desire and dread play to a stalemate, the fear of death is ossified in the temporary bloom of cut flowers, there are subtle snakes lurkingin the placid grass, and also women, languid but possibly dangerous.

The paintings, with their curious subjects and disorienting shifts in scale, can produce a Lynchian unease and the sinking feeling that what you are seeing may not support the comforts of allegory so common to their art historical referents. In this state though, a viewer finds a more elusive truth: recognition of one’s own slippery and mysterious humanity. – Pascal Spengemann

We extend our sincere thanks to those who lent paintings to this exhibition. More information about Albert York may be obtained from Davis & Langdale Company Inc. who exclusively represent the artist. Davis & Langdale is located in Manhattan at 231 East 60th St.