Ann Hamilton, abc

Ann Hamilton, abc, 1994/1999, Video. Image courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A closeup of a fingertip erases letters from a pane of glass, and then the film plays in reverse and the fingertip seems to be creating the letters on the pane of glass. Moving in its simplicity, this video seems to speak to the problems of creating, of communicating, the transience of our works of art. Each of the letters is unsubstantial and delicate, and they disappear and reappear in endless repetition.

Philip Guston, Ocean

Philip Guston, Ocean, 1976, Oil on canvas, 78 x 116.5 in. Image courtesy the San Antonio Museum of Art.

This is a stunning painting to happen upon in the quiet light-soaked galleries of the San Antonio Museum of Art. Expansive and richly colored, looking at it is a very physical experience, as those waves wash over you. It combines the most beautiful aspects of Guston's early and late work--the depth of color (and that magical grey!) and sensitivity of stroke and graphic sensibility and the directness and unsparing honesty and wry tenderness.

Joseph Beuys, Telephone T----------------R

Joseph Beuys, , (From Two FLUXUS-Objects, Edition of 24), dimensions variable, string, paper, paint/tin cans, 1974. Image courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York.

It's hard to tell if the mystical aura around Joseph Beuys objects comes from the works themselves or from his persona, but there is always something transformative about the simplest objects. The texture of the painted cross and the twine, the just-right weathering of the cans. They perfectly evoke childhood games and military rations, these basic objects seem capable of preforming strange feats of magic and alchemy.

Donald Moffett, Lot 051608 (the white house)

Donald Moffett, Lot 051608 (the white house), 2008, Beeswax and encaustic on linen, 49 1/2 x 37 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches 125.7 x 95.3 x 6.4 cm. Image courtesy Marianne Boesky Gallery.


The work of Donald Moffett has an understated thoughtfulness and playfulness at the same time that I find very appealing. The materiality of this piece is the most important part about it--the differing shines of the paints for each section, the different weaves and textures to the linen. The pieces of linen are placed so that the weave travels in all different directions, giving the work a subtle and engrossing rhythm. The raw edges give the work a bit of an unnerving undercurrent, and there is a certain sadness to the palette.