The exhibition Abstraction by Any Other Name, curated by Dan Cameron at the Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation, celebrates the diverse approaches to abstract painting among eight contemporary artists: Jane Fine, Matthew Kolodziej, Regina Scully, Lui Shtini, Louise Belcourt, Iva Gueorguieva, Jill Moser, and Frank Owen. The show, running from September 6, 2024, to February 8, 2025, is presented in two parts, each highlighting different artists.
The exhibition’s title is a playful reference to Juliet’s famous line in Romeo and Juliet (“A rose by any other name…”), suggesting that abstraction, regardless of how it’s labeled, remains a form of artistic expression that transcends categorization. The show deliberately avoids connecting these artists to the Abstract Expressionism movement, instead framing their work through the lenses of gestural painting, color, and process-based abstraction.
All eight artists use paint over a substrate, a method as old as painting itself. However, what unites them is not a shared style but rather their individual processes and the personal evolution of their work, particularly in the context of a post-pandemic world.
Jane Fine, Matthew Kolodziej, Frank Owen, and Iva Gueorguieva use layered processes and external references, presenting fragmented compositions. Fine’s work evokes urban environments with elements of graffiti, while Gueorguieva’s surfaces suggest detritus and figurative elements with a sense of controlled chaos. Kolodziej and Owen, meanwhile, focus on physical layering—Kolodziej’s dot patterns create striped designs, while Owen’s gestural layers build depth and time.
Louise Belcourt, Jill Moser, and Lui Shtini work with shape and color to explore form and movement. Belcourt, like Kolodziej, juxtaposes varied mark-making techniques, blending painterly passages that shift between organic forms (like fur) and more geometric shapes. Moser uses color and shapes to evoke light and place, particularly in her piece Field for Ray. Shtini’s work balances the tension between recognizable images and abstract forms, demonstrating a mastery of materiality and painterly technique. Regina Scully’s work encompasses elements from all the other artists but in a more expansive, all-encompassing manner. Her approach recalls the all-over aesthetic of Abstract Expressionism, particularly in its repetitive gestures and expansive compositions reminiscent of Jackson Pollock’s work.
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The exhibition highlights the evolving nature of abstract painting, emphasizing the individuality of each artist’s process while demonstrating how their works respond to personal, cultural, and historical contexts, including the impact of the post-COVID era. The show challenges traditional labels, encouraging viewers to engage with abstraction in a more open, exploratory way. Each artist demonstrates the continued vitality and diversity of abstract painting today, underscoring the individual expressions of each artist and their unique engagements with material, form, and process.
What makes this exhibition unique is its challenge to traditional labels and categorization. By presenting abstraction as an evolving and multifaceted approach to art-making, Abstraction by Any Other Name invites viewers to explore the rich diversity of abstract painting today. It’s an exhibition that doesn’t just celebrate the work of its artists but also prompts us to rethink how we engage with abstraction itself. This show offers an opportunity to explore the many ways in which abstraction remains vital, dynamic, and relevant in our ever-changing world. It’s an invitation to discover new possibilities in the language of paint, to challenge preconceptions, and to experience the thrill of engaging with art that transcends labels.
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Abstraction by Any Other Name at The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation, New York. Curated by Dan Cameron
Part 1: September 6 – November 2, 2024; Part 11: November 15, 2024 – February 8, 2025
Part One: Jane Fine, Matthew Kolodziej, Regina Scully, Lui Shtini
Part Two: Louise Belcourt, Iva Gueorguieva, Jill Moser, Frank Owen
About the writer: Riad Miah was born in Trinidad and currently lives and works in New York City. His work has been exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Contemporary Art, Sperone Westwater, White Box Gallery, Deluxe Projects, Rooster Contemporary Art, Simon Gallery, and Lesley Heller Workshop. He has received fellowships nationally and internationally. His works are included in private, university, and corporate collections. He contributes to for Two Coats of Paint, the Brooklyn Rail, and Art Savvvy.