Of the few works that seem at all dated in this show, the collaboration between Norman Bluhm and the poet, art critic, and curator Frank O'Hara belongs to the 1950s. These are a series of works on paper called "Poem-Paintings," done in 1960. Bluhm, more than many of his contemporaries, took the critic Harold Rosenberg's ideas about "Action Painting" seriously, believed in the sweeping gesture, and splashed paint in all directions. In these works, Bluhm painted and O'Hara wrote poem fragments. Rosenberg's ideas haven't withstood the test of time, and these works feel thin.
By contrast, "Large Architectural" (1951), by Ilya Bolotowsky, doesn't seem dated at all. While directly influenced by Mondrian, it has Bolotowsky's clear voice and sure eye, and is a delight to see.
As is most of "New York Cool." It includes, among others, works by James Lee Byars, Philip Guston, Al Held, Agnes Martin, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, and Louise Bourgeois, and is a show that restores one's faith in the power of art.
Ken Greenleaf can be reached at ken.greenleaf@gmail.com.
