David Seidner

There is a lot to see here--Joan Mitchell's boxes of fat pastels, and her mangled, well-used paint tubes and housepainter's brushes; Terry Winters's glass, flat-bottomed pestles; Richard Serra's cluttered worktable. Artists at Work, however, has the slightly slick look of a fashion project. And, unfortunately, Seidner's brief essays are not illuminating enough. While most are fawning, he is not always kind, mocking Louise Bourgeois with a backhanded, mincing fervor. Some of his observations are irritating for their airiness: "[Brice Marden's] looks and his physique--especially when he has his hair long and wears his black jeans--give him an eternally youthful quality." Others--his continual references to "my good friend," "my dear friend," etc.--make readers appreciate, more than ever, the substantive text Brian O'Doherty offered an earlier generation of artists. --Peggy Moorman
Publisher: Rizzoli
Hardcover : 208 pages
Language: English