Two Major Galleries Celebrate the Work of Adam Straus

 

 

Spanning a three and a half decade career, the paintings of Adam Straus are on view until January 14, 2017. Two exhibitions at 730 Fifth Avenue showcase his paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and photography. Straus is known for his majestic and luminous depictions of nature, often deeply saturated with the artist’s deep concerns about social and environmental issues. His penetrating, dark humor often transport the viewer to post-apocalyptic worlds and offers wry observations on how humans have altered the natural landscape. The exhibitions coincide with the publication of a new monograph with an introduction by noted critic Amei Wallach, published by Gli Ori in Italy.

The 40-plus works at Nohra Haime survey the artist’s career from 1979 to 2016. While the focus will be on paintings and works on paper, Straus’s little-known photography and sculpture from the early 1980s provide context for his later transition to painting. A number of these works are from private collections and are on public view for the first time.

At straus-an-early-spring-2002, the exhibition focuses on 14 paintings on canvas and works on paper from 2011 to 2016, many of which, in a witty and irreverent manner, observe how technology alters our view of nature. Straus’s cinematic expanses are sometimes painted on jute, which provides a rough surface that softens the image and creates the look of a screen. Together, this intriguing and unusual collaboration between two important and neighboring galleries provides an insightful and broad view of the evolution of one of the most important landscape painters working in America today.

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