‘You Had Me at Hello’ Boston Globe Review
The figure as foundation in ‘You Had Me at Hello’
New American Paintings magazine is behind this show at Steven Zevitas Gallery.
By Cate McQuaid Globe Correspondent,Updated April 26, 2022, 3:14 p.m.
“You Had Me at Hello: New American Paintings 2022 Review” at Steven Zevitas Gallery considers the figure at the leading edge of contemporary painting.
The bimonthly New American Paintings magazine is published by Open Studios Press in an office adjoining the gallery. It advertises itself as “juried exhibitions-in-print,” tapping curators as jurors.
The return of the figure isn’t a new trend. It’s been driven, in part, by movements such as #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, as artists seek to tell underrepresented and untold stories in ways only the human figure can. Queer theory, like its predecessor feminist theory, has had a growing impact on artists’ understanding of subjectivity and the sheer, confusing messiness of living in a body.
Josiah Ellner, "Where do the chemtrails lead," 2022, oil on canvas. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND STEVEN ZEVITAS GALLERY