Albert Oehlen @ Gagosian

May 31, 2021 

2-TIMES • Art
Albert Oehlen,
‘Tramonto Spaventoso’
@ Gagosian
— 

“Championing self-
consciously amateurish
‘bad’ painting, Oehlen
continues to infuse
expressive gesture 
with Surrealist attitude,
openly disparaging
the quest for reliable
form and stable
meaning...” 

Born: 
1954 — Krefeld,
Germany. 

Title translation:
‘Terrifying Sunset.’ 

The exhibition: 
In the large-scale
canvases on view
at the Beverly Hills
gallery, Oehlen employs
acrylic, spray paint,
charcoal, and patterned
fabric to interpret
and transform John
Graham’s painting 
Tramonto Spaventoso 
(1940–49), a work by
the Russian-born American
modernist painter that
he discovered in the
1990's and has been
fascinated with ever
since. 

“In explosive
abstractions in
acrylic and spray
paint, he combines
graphic brushstrokes,
deliberate “painterly”
drips,surprising color
combinations, and
textural obfuscations
to test the limits of
coherence and
legibility.” 

Accompanying 
playlist: 
Steamboat Switzerland. 

On view at: 
Gagosian, Beverly Hills
— 
456 N Camden Dr,
Beverly Hills,
CA 90210,
United States. 

Closes: 
June 5, 2021.