Atemporality and Painting

Post Three
August, the proverbial dog days of summer, is a good time to look back on the past year. Today begins a five post series reviewing the top blog posts (via web traffic) this year.

Forever Now: A Survey of Contemporary Painting at MOMA, curated by Laura Hoptman, isn't breaking new ground, but does bring together a lot of great work. Roberta Smith reviewed the show for the Times and writes that the shows thesis

...hinges on the word atemporal, inspired by “atemporality,” which was coined by the science fiction writer William Gibson in 2003. The idea is that, especially in the digital era, culture exists in a state of simultaneity, where all of history is equally available for use.
It could be argued that simultaneity is nothing new: It was once the definition of postmodernism; it also describes the ways artists selectively consider past art alive and useful, and can be a cover for simple derivativeness — a condition not entirely absent from the exhibition. more

Mary Weatherford. La Noche. 2014. Flashe paint with neon lights and transformer on linen. 9’ 9 3/8” × 8’ 8 1/4” × 5 7/8″ (298.1 × 264.8 × 14.9 cm). Collection Mandy and Cliff Einstein, Los Angeles. Courtesy David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen

Michael Williams. Wall Dog. 2013. Inkjet and airbrush on canvas. 8′ 1 1/4″ x 6′ 6 1/8″ (247 × 198.4 cm). Private collection, New York. Courtesy CANADA

Kerstin Brätsch. Blocked Radiant D (for Ioana). 2011. Oil on paper. 110 × 72” (279.4 × 182.9 cm). Tony and Elham Salamé. Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown’s Enterprise. Copyright the artist. Photo: Filippo Armellin