Manny Farber | New Paintings
Quint Contemporary Art is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition of new work by Manny Farber. Several large paintings will anchor an installation that will also include smaller panels.
No neophyte painter, Farber has been engaged with painting his signature still life paintings since the early 1970s. His works typically present a family of objects scattered across a tipped up surface. Although Farber’s painted array of flowers, vegetables, old masterpiece reproductions, and handwritten correspondence is often described as diaristic, a comparison with music may be equally fitting. Particularly in this new work Farber has sharpened the structure of his all over compositions to focus on a few main melodies, whether they be floral garlands or cascading arcs of books. These themes are then embellished with vibrant notes of color, errant leaves, fallen petals, and quieted birds. Such demonstrations of painterly finesse often invite further contemplation. In one painting featured in the exhibition, the boundary between the blue and gray of the background is flush with the spine of a book that juxtaposes a male and a female portrait by the 18th century painter Watteau. As if the pleasure of paint were not enough, Farber’s works leave us grappling with gender, the significance of personal possessions, and even the cycle of life through the natural blossoming and fading of his floral arrangements.
In addition, a small selection of Farber’s paintings will be on exhibit this winter at Domestic Furniture, artist/designer Roy McMakin’s retail space in Los Angeles.
