Jay Milder at ERIC FIRESTONE Mariana Oushiro at VITO SCHNABEL

James Kalm, in the course of his bicycle perambulations, sometimes comes across events that are illuminatingly instructive in their contrasts. “Jay Milder: Broadway Nonstop Subway paintings from the 1950s and 60s”, is an historic exhibition presenting this series together for the first time since the early 1960s. These heavily textured works, bare the influences of the CoBrA artists and the materialist painters that Jay saw while studying in Paris in the early 1950s. But rather than using myths or folklore as his subject, Milder picks the scurrying figures of folks running to catch subway trains instead. Though using an almost comic book like depiction, the heavy facture and “action painting” brushwork is a harbinger of the Neo-Expressionists and masters like Philip Guston who attracted critical attention decades later.
At the other end of the spectrum (and the other side of town), “Supernova” the debut show by Mariana Oushiro at Vito Schnabel presents large works on raw canvas. These pictures are big rough and ragged, creating a painting environment that pays homage to the classic Abstract Expressionists while still providing a space for this young artist to explore her own direction. These pieces have all the spontaneous energy of avant-jazz, and, with the included foot and hand prints, carry the notion of personal mark making to an extravagant level. A musical introduction is provided by Robert Leslie. This program was recorded March 26 and April 2, 2022. #jameskalmreport #jameskalmroughcut #lorenmunk