Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Brenda Goodman

While obviously well-established, Brenda Goodman is new to me. Thanks to Martin at Anaba for referencing her (as a comparison to Kathy Bradford's work, which also looks very interesting).
This is my new go-to artist for inspiration, for remembering why we do this. Her site shows bodies of work dating back to 1973, and it all is phenomenal.
I am really really really stoked by this work.



6 comments:

M.A.H. said...

New to me too. Thanks for the introduction. Her work is wonderful.

Sam K said...

These are really cool. The Song paintings evoke a strange blend of things...kind of spooky, kind of funny, and the paint is nice and rich.

Carla said...

Yes, the song paintings are weird. They're like 5-second Tourettes-y vocal calls.

Anonymous said...

Her work is amazing, and part of the power comes from the unflinchingly potent and yet humorous depictions of herself that she includes in these and earlier works.

My wife had a chance to visit her in her studio back in the late 90's, and always speaks of both the impact of the work and her openness and kindness in showing a group of young artists her studio. I'll definitely be showing these works to my students in the near future.

Thanks for posting them.

Carla said...

She uses narrative in a highly tolerable manner, which is saying something. That she's using self depictions with such seamless integration is doubly impressive.

Sam K said...

Well put. And there seems to be such a savviness to a lot of painters, in these...I'm pleasantly reminded of several favorites--Guston, Winters, and de Stael, to name three.