The Trace Absence/ Presence- A Group Exhibition | Page 13

This work might well be an elegy for classical culture, but its rendering is far
from archaic. Here the sweep of paint is mostly used to determine atmosphere;
the work belongs to the legacy of abstract-expressionism. Its organic structure
mostly includes patches of paint, which fill the compositional field; as a result,
the work is charged with presence, pushing absence—its usual concomitant—out
of the way.
Cyphers’ installation of Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #461 (An 84-inch Square Filled
in Loosely, Permitting White from the Wall to Show Through.) was originally
shown in 1986 at the Ground Zero Gallery in East Village. Thin black lines move
in all directions and cross over one another in a tightly packed manner directly
on the wall. It is a marvelously expressive piece that owes its resonance to New
York art practice. Even so, it is rather different from the often linear drawings
and sculptures of LeWitt. But here is a work that is composed entirely of traces
that seem to exist in a void, going nowhere even as they establish a zone of
intricate relations. The marks are both self-sufficient in their visual implications
and exemplary examples of the kinds of traces the exhibition is dedicated to
illuminating.
Finally, Northwest artist Mark Tobey’s print, Psaltery 1st Form, offers a
marvelous tracery of short rounded lines closely interacting with each other,
creating a dense nest of forms against a dark-brown background. It is beautiful—
and perhaps even pious—without being decorative. Its presence is achieved by
the elegance of the marks, which build structures that are intuitive rather than
analytical. Here the trace is all important, implying an architecture raised
against nullity: culture builds visible compositions in the face of emptiness, again
a point suggested by the exhibition’s introduction.
Art being what it is, we can only speculate on its decisions and effects. Still,
both can be described with accuracy. Traces of the gesture in the show do in
fact tie some of the works loosely to the New York School, which has now moved
beyond three generations. This is likely inevitable, given the fact that the show
is occurring in New York City, with many New York-based artists.