Joan Snyder: The Summer Becomes a Room at CANADA
There really is something like a ‘breath of fresh air’ about Joan Snyder’s first show at CANADA. Her large abstract pieces are jam-packed full of texture, both from the wonderful way that she layers her paint and with the materials that she adds to her paintings.
Field Marks, 2019, oil, acrylic, burlap, paper, rose stems on canvas
I loved the use of dried flowers, especially the rosebuds in ‘The Summer Becomes a Room’ which is the title piece of the show and my favourite work on display. Snyder also includes items such as herbs, mud, silk, and burlap to add that extra dimension to her work.
The Summer Becomes a Room, 2018, oil acrylic, herbs, rosebuds, burlap, cloth on canvas
The first time I remember seeing Snyder’s work in the flesh was at the The Met Museum a couple of years ago. One of her older pieces (from the 1970’s) is included in their ‘Epic Abstraction’ show and if I’m honest, I do prefer the simplicity of her older work to this exhibit.
Weeping Cherry Tree & Thee, 2020, oil, acrylic, paper mache, burlap, straw, paper on linen
But there is still plenty to love about this collection that covers abstracts she made over the last three years. I particularly like the bright colour that immediately made me think of summer.
Anatomy of a Summer Painting, 2019, oil, acrylic, paper mache, burlap, paper on linen
Born in New Jersey, USA in 1940, Snyder became known during the 1970’s for her ‘stroke paintings’:
“I wanted to tell a story and I wanted there to be different sections. I wanted a beginning, middle, and end, many different parts, happy, sad, tragic parts, many things happening at once, different instruments, different sounds, rhythms.”
Black Lake, 2019, oil, acrylic, burlap, paper mache, leaves, herbs on canvas
Although not related directly to Snyder’s work and more to do with the atmosphere in which it was shown, I didn’t have the best experience at CANADA. Perhaps the staff were just having an ‘off day’ but it was definitely the least friendly gallery, of the seven I visited over the weekend.
Joan Snyder: The Summer Becomes a Room is on view until 10th October 2020 at CANADA, 60 Lispenard Street, New York, NY 10013, USA. Appointments are recommended and can be made via CANADA’s website.