Review: Philip Pearlstein: I Love Mud @ Betty Cunningham
Do you really love mud or are you just saying it because you saw it?
At 97, Philip Pearlstein had to reinvent himself—to an extent—for a third time. In the 1950s, he began by painting Abstract Expressionist landscapes; by the 1960s he came into his own with the photorealistic nudes that have come to define him. Now, as a result of Covid, he’s moved on to—perhaps temporarily—“his vast collection of art, antiquities, Americana, souvenirs and toys,” as the press release states.
Live models bring with them the risk of contagion. This pivot, on view under the title I Love Mud at Betty Cunningham Gallery through Jan. 22, must be more than a simple matter of practicality. I refuse to believe that a modern virtuoso such as Pearlstein couldn’t simply work from photographs. No, when you peel back from the drooping dongs and sagging breasts his canvases have always delighted in some object fetishism. The chairs and stools, though more subtle, often make their way into the painting’s title (e.g. Female Model on African Stool (1976)) and by the late 1980s, the nudes are accompanied with, by way of example: a red rooster weathervane, a swan decoy, a garden figure, or minstrel marionettes.
Pearlstein, I assume, paints these objects because they mean a lot to him. He titled the show I Love Mud—a nod to his affinity for “clay, terracotta, and other earthenware objects,” as Jessica Holmes at The Brooklyn Rail points out—not I Merely Enjoy on a Casual Basis Mud.
The 21 watercolors on the walls are all from 2020 - 2021. Additionally, there is a portfolio of 11 more paintings from the same period that I only know about from the printed-out checklist the gallery assistant gave me. A weird older couple was guarding the book the paintings were in and I wasn’t in the mood to ask the man to take off the glove and let me have a look.
A gallery director today quoted me the Renaissance maxim "Every painter paints himself." In this collection of works, some of which feature toys from Pearlstein’s childhood, the artist is getting personal. These objects clearly mean a lot to him and he’s not just showing them off but making them in his image.
The ones that entice me the most are the paintings of Pearlstein’s knick-knacks and boyhood playthings. His palette expands to subdued yet dazzling watercolors and I sense that this series made him feel young again. There’s something new to observe here.
The mud ones receive an adept attention to detail. I wonder if and when he feels safe if he’ll go back to skinny bodies or stick with this motif he’s always seemed to have wanted to spotlight.
Pearlstein is still excellent. God bless him. I bet he gets even better in another decade.
Verdict: ****.5 / *****