William Cordova

January 10, 2016, 10:09am

Catchig up with Blaise Rosenthal, 2014 New American Paintings Annual Prize Winner

One of the most gratifying aspects of publishing New American Paintings over the years has been watching our alumni go on to accomplish great things. The publication's history is replete with artists who were featured early in their careers that have gone on to become nationally and, in some cases, internationally recognized artists. Among them are individuals such as Iona Rozeal Brown, William Cordova, Amy Cutler, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Matthew Day Jackson, Eddie Martinez, Allison Schulnik and James Siena. At the end of the day, New American Paintings' number one goal is to offer deserving artists a vehicle though which there work can be discovered by an engaged and geographically diverse audience.

Since 2010, New American Paintings has awarded an annual prize to one of the two hundred and forty artists featured in that calendar year's six issues (look for our 2015 poll in the next week). In 2014, the winner of that prize was self-taught artist, Blaise Rosenthal, whose dusky, minimal abstractions draw more from his personal experiences and the American landscape then they do art historical precedent. I ran into Rosenthal's work on my annual visit to the Miami art fairs in early December. As I walked down an aisle of the UNTITLED art fair, there they were in the distance. I recognized them instantly, which, in today's overcrowded and homogenized art world really says something. It may sound trite, but these paintings have genuine presence and are clearly made by an artist who is actively searching...who is digging in the dirt. There is no artifice, or pretense to them.

As it happens, the reason Rosenthal's paintings were on view at UNTITLED is that Oakland based gallery Johannson Projects had recently discovered the work in New American Paintings. By all accounts, the relationship between Johannson and Rosenthal has turned into one that has been mutually beneficial. I had the chance to speak with Rosenthal at UNTITLED, and subsequently reached out to ask him some additional questions about his work and practice. Our conversation can be found below. - Steven Zevitas, Publisher

Blaise Rosenthal | The Ridge, Acrylic and Charcoal on Canvas, 26x29 Inches
 

June 29, 2012, 8:15am

40 Galleries You Should Know if You Love Paint

It is a simple truth that in any given month, if you added up all of the available space in commercial galleries around the country, the amount dedicated to painting would dwarf that of all other media. The list that I have compiled consists of 40 United States’ based galleries that have a proclivity for painting. That is not to say that painting is the only medium that these galleries show; indeed, most represent artists producing work in a range of media. All of them, however, have shown a particular interest in the medium over an extended period of time, and all have stables of artists that are at least 50% painters.

September 28, 2011, 8:52am

Absence as Catalyst for Social Change – William Cordova at Saltworks Gallery

William Cordova's (NAP MFA Annual 2003) recent show in Atlanta [Saltworks Gallery; September 16 – October 29, 2011] búscame en el torbellion: but also time itself is a complicated knotwork of imagery that potentially provides a rich discussion. - Read the full review by Atlanta Contributor, Paul Boshears, after the jump.

April 27, 2011, 12:34pm

Beyond The Stretcher: NAP at Art Chicago | NEXT Talk Shop + CONVERGE

(flickr via Renaissance Society & Art Chicago)