Dan Walsh
Subtitle: pressing matter
By: texts, Dominic van den Boogerd, Paula van den Bosch and Bob Nickas
Contributors: Boogerd, Dominic van den; Bosch, Paula van den; Nickas, Robert; Bonnefantenmuseum
Publisher: Bonnefantenmuseum
Published: 2019
Place of publication: Maastricht
Language: eng
Number of pages: 87
ISBN-13: 9789072251800
Subjects: Exhibitions; Abstract Painting; 20.54 American art
Other titles: Pressing matter
Description: Based on the renewed interest in abstract painting that has been evident for a while now in a younger generation of artists, the Bonnefantenmuseum has developed an exhibition programme with a revisionist slant. The exhibition Pressing Matter by Dan Walsh (1960 Philadelphia) is presented in this context. The ornamental abstraction of this veteran American painter is rooted in the economical visual idiom of minimal painting from the 1960's and 70's. Perceptibly inspired by artists like Sol Lewitt (1928 Hartfort, Connecticut - New York 2007), whose work forms an important cornerstone of the Bonnefantenmuseum's collection, Walsh's painting is created within the strict parameters of a grid and square, and follows self-imposed rules and procedures. Although most of the compositions consist of complex combinations of different decorative structures, they appear relaxed and natural, as though they have casually adapted themselves to the picture plane. Looking at the patterns in his paintings evokes a world of associations, ranging from ornamental architecture to fabrics from all corners of the world. Walsh thus succeeds in bridging the gap between a modernist tradition that strives for autonomy and the collective history of applied arts. Exhibition: Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands (25.10.2019-12.01.2020).
Notes: Catalog of an exhibition held at the Bonnefantenmuseum, January 25, 2019 - January 12, 2020.

Includes bibliographical references.