Whitney Bedford

WHITNEY BEDFORD

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WHITNEY BEDFORD

525 West 22nd Street New York NY 10011

511 West 22nd Street New York, NY 10011

520 West 21st Street New York NY 10011

WHITNEY BEDFORD’S RELOCATIONS

By Barry Schwabsky

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The works of Whitney Bedford’s that I’d seen in person before undertaking this essay were seascapes, often featuring sailing ships tossed about on crashing waves. While the vessels themselves were depicted with an almost illustrational concision, the stormy weather was mainly a matter of nondescriptive mark making, reminiscent of Abstract Expressionism or Color Field painting, as well as more recent (and more overtly reflexive or systematic) modes of abstraction. In the wake of a somewhat older generation of painters, such as Karen Kilimnik and Elizabeth Peyton, Bedford seemed bent on reclaiming imagery that one might have thought was fatally mired in kitsch and, by strategically detaching the “what” and the “how” of the painting (i.e., the subject and style), investing it with new energy.

Bedford succeeded in doing this, in the first place, because her paint handling and draftsmanship were equal to the task—a matter not only of skill but of sensitivity and daring.

More than that, the paintings worked because her parallax view of subject and style, and her evident deployment of them in a dynamically critical relationship to each other, allowed her to eschew the manipulative emotionality of kitsch without eschewing feeling itself, while her analytical fascination with her material ensured that irony never curdled into superciliousness or sarcasm.

I knew, thanks to the internet, that over the last decade or so Bedford had turned from sea to dry land for her imagery—that landscape had become a primary subject. What I hadn’t realized until delving into her website was that she has explored many other

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genres over the years, including what might be called historical portraiture (for example, a series of 2007 works depicting the renowned early twentieth century escape artist and debunker of the occult Harry Houdini) and still life (in 2012, a group of paintings of art books). In 2013–14, there was a group of works that, at least in reproduction, I read as abstract, all titled either Love Letter or Lovenote. This is all to say that while Bedford has pursued certain subjects in a persistent way for many years—she made some seascapes as recently as 2018, some fifteen years after she first took up the genre—she is not a specialist or a dogmatic exponent of any one type of painting. On the contrary, she is, you might say, a painter of painting, one who explores the full complexity of the art (including its history) by encompassing as many of its internal differences or disparities as possible.

She’s a painter for whom both subject matter and style are essentially vehicles for this exploration, rather than ends in themselves.

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Bedford’s recent “Veduta” paintings share a three-layered structure that is clear and readily described, though the effects the artist produces within it are varied and sometimes disorienting. Straight, monochromatic lines divide the canvas into three, or sometimes four, zones of unequal size, their geometry implying an interior space with a corner, or sometimes two corners. The zone at the bottom of the canvas is painted in a different single color, opaque and uninflected: a floor plane. Geometrically, the plane appears to be a schematic representation in the perspective of an architectural interior—in short, a room. But instead of walls, the remaining two or three sections of the rectangle are occupied by a landscape—or rather, by a landscape painting, for what one sees is not a view off into a distance as though one were looking out from a room with glass walls. The landscape image, rendered in a different, historically specific style in each painting, has been made synonymous with the plane of the painting (and not with the implied planes of the imagined “walls”). And finally—and perhaps most puzzling—each painting includes a second representation of “nature,” though in a distinctly abstract way. Each painting

also includes silhouetted images—again monochromatic though often with added linear markings—of trees or shrubs. In some cases, these—unlike the more elaborate landscape imagery—do follow the angled perspectival planes of the imaginary room’s walls. In others, they parallel the plane of the painting surface itself, in which case, intersecting the bottom of the canvas, they represent a plane between the viewer and everything else seen in the painting—an extreme foreground.

What this cursory structural description should make clear is that these paintings are concerned with how multiple perspectives or viewpoints can be coherently maintained by a single complex or synthetic image (and implicitly, by a single consciousness). It’s no accident that, here, “perspective” and “viewpoint” are words that have both very general meanings (attitude, a way of looking at things) and quite specific meanings having to do with image construction (respectively, the linear construction of representations of solid objects so as to convey their dimensionality and position in space, and the particular position in relation to which such three-dimensional representations make sense). This congruence between two dimensions of meaning should remind us that seeing has always been a metonymy for knowing, and that picturing corresponds with the artifice of giving what one knows a stable and communicable structure.

Remember the opening words of Aristotle’s Metaphysics:

All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight. For not only with a view to action, but even when we are not going to do anything, we prefer seeing (one might say) to everything else. The reason is that this, most of all the senses, makes us know and brings to light many differences between things.1

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Throughout the last century, it’s true, there were concerted efforts on the part of many thinkers to dismantle or at least complicate the equation between seeing and knowing.2 But the result has never been to eliminate the connection. Exposing its intricacies, ambiguities, and obscurities has mainly served to render it more fascinating. Paintings such as Bedford’s are prime examples of how complexity and contradiction—to borrow the famous phrase with which Robert Venturi launched, arguably, the postmodern sensibility in architecture and beyond—can fuel a curious kind of cognitive and perceptual bemusement that, at least to certain sensibilities, affords a pleasure more intense than simpler and more evidently self-consistent representations can afford. That is because it is a pleasure founded on a fuller grasp of the complexity of things as they are than an apparently straightforward picture usually gives us.

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Part of any understanding of the world’s complexity is a sense of the equivocal nature of one’s own relationship to it. We look at the world as if from outside it—as if it were offering itself to our view like a picture—even though we know very well that we are not outside it but within, and that it surrounds us with things seen and unseen, seeable and unseeable. And there’s much more of the unseen and unseeable than of the seen or the seeable. But knowing the limitations of knowledge is in itself a valuable form of knowledge; likewise, so is seeing how one form of knowledge—one form of picturing—can be nested inside others or can contain them in turn.

When did it become possible and interesting for a painter to represent other painters’ styles of painting in his or her own paintings? Maybe it began with Francis Picabia. But he was a painter of corrosive humor, one who gloried in subverting his sources. In Bedford’s paintings, I see the citations of Pierre Bonnard or Paul Gauguin, Milton Avery or Charles Burchfield as neither parodic nor reverent, neither nostalgic nor critical. And they are not copies, but free inventions of Bedford’s, albeit inventions based on existing images.

They remind us, however, that the apparently free-flowing nature of vision out in the open is always implicitly contained by an architecture that is of a pictorial construct conceived with its implicit architectural location in mind. I am tempted to borrow a term from literary theory and call them imitations—as long as this word is understood in its proper sense: “Imitation depends on a relocation of authorial and textual models, and it seeks to create not replicas but counterparts responsive to changed historical contexts.”3 To appreciate Bedford’s “Veduta” paintings, it is not necessary to compare them against their sources. But doing so, I’ve found, does enable a deeper appreciation of how, precisely, her relocation of existing painting strategies enables a dialectical viewpoint on them, one that sees them both as distant—products and symptoms of other times—and as full of possibility for the present.

7 Barry Schwabsky is the art critic for The Nation and co-editor of international reviews for Artforum. His recent books include Landscape Painting Now: From Pop Abstraction to New Romanticism (New York: D.A.P., 2019) and The Observer Effect: On Contemporary Painting (Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2020). Forthcoming is his fourth book of poetry, Feelings of And (New York: Black Square Editions, 2021).

Endnotes 1. Aristotle, Metaphysics, translated by W.D. Ross, http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/metaphysics.1.i.html.

2. For an account of some modern critiques of the dominance of vision in western epistemology, see Martin Jay, Downcast Eyes: The Denigration of Vision in Twentieth-Century French Thought (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993).

3. R.R. Edwards, “Imitation,” The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, fourth edition (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021), p. 679.

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Veduta (Avery Tree), 2020 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 24 3/8 x 31 1/2 inches 61.9 x 80 cm

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Veduta (Amiet Baumgarten), 2021

Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 45 x 35 inches 114.3 x 88.9 cm

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Veduta (Bonnard Normandy), 2021

Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 18 x 24 inches 45.7 x 61 cm

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Veduta (Bonnard Summer), 2021 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 79 1/2 x 100 inches 201.9 x 254 cm

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Veduta (Bruegel), 2021 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 18 x 24 inches 45.7 x 61 cm

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Veduta (Burchfield Dream), 2021 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 32 1/2 x 39 3/4 inches 82.6 x 101 cm

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Veduta (Friedrich Summer), 2021 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 72 x 120 inches 182.9 x 304.8 cm

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Veduta (de Stael Landscape), 2021

Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 21 1/4 x 29 7/8 inches 54 x 75.9 cm

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Veduta (Gauguin Coming and Going), 2021 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 28 1/2 x 36 inches 72.4 x 91.4 cm

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Veduta (Matisse Bois), 2021 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 32 x 40 inches 81.3 x 101.6 cm

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Veduta (Munch Field), 2021 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 26 x 35 inches 66 x 88.9 cm

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Veduta (Rothko), 2021 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 59 x 46 inches 149.9 x 116.8 cm

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Veduta (Rousseau Spring), 2021 Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 31 x 49 inches 78.7 x 124.5 cm

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Veduta (Storm), 2021

Ink and oil on linen on hybrid panel 22 x 26 inches 55.9 x 66 cm

WHITNEY BEDFORD Born in Baltimore, MD in 1976 Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA

“Whitney Bedford: Reflections on the Anthropocene,” Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 2018 “Numinous,” Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago, IL “Bohemia,” Starkwhite, Auckland, New Zealand

2007 “Whitney Bedford: The Escape Artist Series,” Cherry and Martin, Los Angeles, CA 2006 Art: Concept, Paris, France

EDUCATION 2003 MFA, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 2000 Fulbright Visiting Artist under Professor Wolfgang Petrick, Hochschule der Künste, Berlin, Germany 1998 BA, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI RISD European Honors Program, Palazzo Cenci, Rome, Italy

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1996 Pont-Aven School of Art, Pont-Aven, France Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Scotland 1993 Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2021 Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY “Whitney Bedford: Veduta (Vuillard Vineyard),” Vielmetter, Los Angeles, CA 2020 “Whitney Bedford: Reflections on the Anthropocene,” Vielmetter, Los Angeles, CA “Nevertheless…” (online exhibition), Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA “Nevertheless…” (online exhibition), Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago, IL “Nevertheless…” (online exhibition), Starkwhite, Auckland, New Zealand

2017 “The Left Coast,” Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA “Bardo Parade,” Art: Concept, Paris, France 2016 “East of Eden,” Carrie Secrist, Chicago, IL “Lost and Found,” Starkwhite, Auckland, New Zealand 2015 “Night and Day,” Taymour Grahne, New York, NY “West of Eden,” Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA 2014 Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago, IL 2013 “This for That,” Starkwhite, Auckland, New Zealand 2011 Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA 2010 “Whitney Bedford (Here and There),” Starkwhite, Auckland, New Zealand 2009 Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA 2008 Art: Concept, Paris, France

“C’est Comme Vous Voulez – As You Like It,” Praz-Delavallade, Paris, France 2017 “Anniversary Show,” Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago, IL

2005 D’Amelio Terras, New York, NY cherrydelosreyes, Los Angeles, CA

2016 “A Verdant Summer,” Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York, NY “Painting: A Transitive Space,” ST PAUL St Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand

2004 Art: Concept, Paris, France

2015 “La femme de trente ans,” Art: Concept, Paris, France

2000 Hôtel de Ville, Biot, France

2014 “Lovers,” Starkwhite, Auckland, New Zealand

1999 The German-American Fulbright Commission, Berlin, Germany

2013 “Summer Group Show,” Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA

1998 BEB Gallery, Providence, RI

2012 “Facing the Sublime in Water, CA,” Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 “Do You Think It Needs A Cloud?,” Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY “Slippery Painting,” Starkwhite, Auckland, New Zealand “20 Years,” Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 2019 “Shall we go, you and I while we can,” Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago, IL “Kaleidoscope,” Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom 2018 “How They Ran,” Over the Influence, Los Angeles, CA “Evolver,” LA Louver, Los Angeles, CA “New on the Wall (N.O.W.),” Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, OH

2011 “Everything Must Go” (organized by Jose Noe Suro and Eduardo Sarabia), Cerámica Suro, Guadalajara, Mexico and Casey Kaplan, New York, NY 2010 “The Gleaners: Works from the Sarah and Jim Taylor Collection,” Vicki Myhren Gallery, University of Denver, Denver, CO “Five from LA,” Galerie Lelong, New York, NY “Bagna Cauda,” Art: Concept, Paris, France “Houdini: Art and Magic, 1919-1949,” The Jewish Museum, New York, NY; Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA; Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA and Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI

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2009 “This is Killing Me,” Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA 2007 “PX – Snow Falls in the Mountains” (curated by Jan Bryant), St. Paul’s Gallery, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand “Poker,” Galleria Monica de Cardenas, Milan, Italy 2006 “Melancholy in Contemporary Art,” Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel-Aviv, Israel “Step Into Liquid,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO “Peindre des images,” Galerie de l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, France

“Woods-Gerry Invitational Exhibition,” Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI 1997 “Inagurative Show,” Space 1026 Space, Philadelphia, PA 1996 “L’ecole Nouveau de Pont-Aven,” Hôtel de Ville, Pont-Aven, France “Salon de Refuses,” Gallerie M, Pont-Aven, France

AWARDS

SELECT COLLECTIONS

2015 Pollock-Krasner Award, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York, NY

Eric Decelle, Brussels, Belgium Francois Pinault Collection, Paris, France

2003 D’Arcy Hayman Endowment, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Ginette Moulin and Guillaume Houze Contemporary Art Collection, Paris, France

2001 UCLA Hammer Museum Drawing Biennial Winner, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA

1995 “Common Threads,” Rites and Reasons Gallery, Providence, RI

2000 Fulbright Graduate Fellowship, Hoschule der Künste, Berlin, Germany

Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

TEACHING

Colección Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico

Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, OH

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2005 “CUT,” Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA “Evidence,” Inman Gallery, Houston, TX “The Third Peak,” Art:Concept, Paris, France “Rogue Wave,” LA Louver, Venice, CA “Wunderkammer2,” Nina Menocal, Mexico City, Mexico “Sad Songs,” University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, IL “Project Room: A Show Without Works” (curated by Daniele Perra), Spazio Lima, Milan, Italy 2004 “summer group show,” cherrydelosreyes, Los Angeles, CA “Carpet Bag and Cozyspace,” Healing Arts Gallery, New York, NY “Rimbaud,” Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium 2003 Black Dragon Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Track 16 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA “MFA Exhibitions Show #1,” UCLA New Wight Gallery/Kinross, Los Angeles, CA 1998 “New England Connection,” Lanning Gallery, Columbus, OH

2021 Adjunct Professor, Chapman University, Orange, CA 2020 Visiting Artist, University of Texas, Austin, TX 2019 Adjunct Professor, Chapman University, Orange, CA Visiting Artist, University of Nevada, Last Vegas, NV Adjunct Professor, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 2017 Adjunct Professor, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 2016 Visiting Artist, Otis College of Design, Los Angeles, CA Adjunct Professor, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 2014 Visiting Artist, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 2012 Visiting Artist, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA

1999 Karl-Hofer Gesellschaft Atelier, Künstlerwerkstatt Bahnhof Westend, Berlin, Germany

Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz, Miami, FL Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom

1997 Peggy Guggenheim Collection Studentship, Venice, Italy

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Published on the occasion of the exhibition

WHITNEY BEDFORD 9 September – 16 October 2021 Miles McEnery Gallery 520 West 21st Street New York NY 10011 tel +1 212 445 0051 www.milesmcenery.com Publication © 2021 Miles McEnery Gallery All rights reserved Essay © 2021 Barry Schwabsky Director of Publications Anastasija Jevtovic, New York, NY Photography by Evan Bedford, Los Angeles, CA Color separations by Echelon, Santa Monica, CA Catalogue designed by McCall Associates, New York, NY ISBN: 978-1-949327-52-6 Cover: Veduta (Friedrich Summer), (detail), 2021

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