10 Must See Painting Shows in the U.S.

: February
2012 | Steven Zevitas

One of the best parts of my job is getting to see the careers of artists who we have worked with take
off. Artists such as James Siena, Amy Cutler and Matthew Day Jackson were all featured in New
American Paintings long before they reached the international spotlight. This month is not only an
extraordinary month for the medium of painting at galleries around the country, it is a particularly
strong month for New American Paintings' alumni. No fewer than twenty artists featured in past or
upcoming editions have their work on view in February.
Two of my favorite emerging painters, Summer Wheat and Benjamin Degen, are on view this month
and will both be featured in the soon to be released 2012 Northeast Edition (#98). Another younger
painter generating a lot of heat as of late is Hugh Scott-Douglas. I saw his recent show at Silverman
Gallery in San Francisco and was impressed; he is currently on view at Clifton Benevento in New
York City.
I want to bring special attention to the work of Sarah McEneaney, who was first featured in the mid1990s. Based in Philadelphia, Sarah is a profoundly gifted artist, and, in my opinion, simply one of
the best painters working today. Her painstakingly crafted egg tempera paintings have always had a
startling immediacy. Of the many micro-trends that are noticeable in current painting practice, a
certain predilection for "faux-naive" representation is high among them. Sarah was entrenched in
this pictorial language long before it washed over the art world. Unlike many younger artists, her
creative direction is not a conceptual gambit; rather, it is born out of an internal necessity.
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Joshua Abelow. Self-Portrait (FKK), oil on burlap on canvas, 18 x 14 inches. Courtesy of Devening
Projects + Editions, Chicago.

Benjamin Degen. Moon Watch, watercolor, graphite, and charcoal on paper, 24 x 16 inches.
Courtesy of American Contemporary, New York.

Hugh Scott-Douglas. Untitled, cyanotype on muslin in artist frame, 60 x 40 inches. Courtesy of

Silverman Gallery.

Joanne Greenbaum. Untitled, oil, acrylic, and mixed media on linen, 16 x 12 inches. Courtesy of
Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago.

Ridley Howard. Nudes, oil on linen, 24 x 30 inches. Courtesy of Leo Koenig, Inc., New York.

Chris Martin. 1,2,3, mixed media on canvas, 77 x 68 inches. Courtesy of Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New
York.

Sarah McEneaney. Trixies Landing, egg tempera on wood, 12 x 11 inches. Courtesy of Tibor de
Nagy, New York.

Zak Prekop. Courtesy of Harris Lieberman Gallery, New York.

Summer Wheat. Onlooker, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches. Courtesy of Samson.

Terry Winters. Cricket Music, oil on linen, 88 x 112

inches. Courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery, New
York.
Please visit the New American Paintings Blog for a
more comprehensive list of must-see painting shows
in February.
New American Paintings magazine is a juried exhibition-in-print and the largest series of artist
competitions in the United States. Working with experienced curators, New American Paintings
reviews the work of thousands of emerging artists each year. Forty artists are selected to appear in
each bi-monthly how much do interior painters charge edition, many of whom go on to receive
substantial critical and commercial success. Additional content focuses on the medium of painting,
those who influence its direction, and the role contemporary painting plays within the art world.Visit
New American Paintings for more information or to subscribe.
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