Gretchen Albrecht and James Ross at Robert Steele - New York - painting exhibition - Brief Article

Auckland artists Gretchen Albrecht and James Ross have shown their works together in New Zealand and the Netherlands. Their first shared exhibition in New York consisted of works from 2000 and 2001. It's easy to see why they are often paired (aside from the fact that they're married). Certainly, the works have visual similarities that, juxtaposed, bring out an almost ironic dialogue between rounded "female" shapes and angular "male" forms. Albrecht's paintings in general are horizontal ovals broken by two horizontal bars in different widths and colors. Ross's involve trapezoidal supports on which vertically elongated ovals, rectangles and partial ellipses are drawn; a circular sheet of glass is bolted to the surface.

Albrecht has a fine sense of color, and her compositions, though repetitive, are pleasing and restful. In Carbon Measure (2000), a muddy tree-toad-green background is washed with large continuous-motion black brushstrokes that curve around the edge of the canvas, creating a loose vortex. Visual entry to the central space is impeded by two thin horizontal lines in ocher and charcoal. The obstruction creates a pause and a distraction but also solidifies and strengthens an otherwise plain space. Pohutukawa (2000) has a rich alizarin background. Its wash is a lighter red; one bar is thick and red again, the other thin and ocher-brown. The title names a native New Zealand tree that keeps its flowers all summer. Here, Albrecht's abstraction references nature in a direct way, resulting in the richest painting in the exhibition.

Ross's pieces have a precision that seems a little self-conscious. Each work is meticulously cut, drawn upon and constructed. The superimposition of glass implies the act of gazing through a lens, which creates a sense of distance as well as voyeuristic overtones. Shapes in the drawings seem to suggest human figures with rectangular torsos and elliptical arms. Several works have "interior" in their titles, but it is the interior of looking in from the outside, as opposed to the meditative interior response to the outside that Albrecht seems to aim for. Ross's colors are appealing and his craftsmanship is perfect, but the imagery doesn't always seem to justify all the precious workmanship, or the effort it takes to scrutinize what's under the glass.

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