Arnulf Rainer
Grey Art Gallery / Galerie Maeght Lelong
Arnulf Rainer is an Austrian artist in his mid 50s. Long a major presence in European art, his substantial and varied body of work remains almost unknown in America. Since this discrepancy is not an isolated case, it suggests that ignorance haunts both sides of the Atlantic, creating problems for someone viewing work for the first time. The two Rainer exhibitions offered a glance at the tip of the iceberg, an introduction that left me wanting to know more.
Rainer’s work could be divided into three groups—Ubermalungen (Over-paintings), gestural hand and finger paintings, and photographic