Robert Duran

A young Californian, Robert Duran, in his first one-man exhibition (at Bykert) embraces the minimal style, but with reservations that imply a feeling for sculptural space. Each piece consists of a group of two, three or four closely related elements. Despite his flat painted surfaces and strictly axial relationships, Duran’s work is more plastic and active than is usual in this astringent mode. His forms are not flimsy or wholly banal. The small self-contained wall-piece, for all its strict complementarity, generates a lot of tension with its harsh diagonal. In several of the pieces, however, his color seemed off. It is indecisive without being really neutral, and vitiates the cleanliness of his forms.

—Amy Goldin