A R T   L E T T E R

The Timely Magazine of Art

Abstraction from Two Coasts (part I) at Lawing Gallery	4/20

The aura of professionalism emanating from the works by Nancy Haynes,
Susan Humphries and John Zinsser underscores their vacancy. These are
products, inviting admiration with luscious surface and unusual technique
while carefully avoiding real engagement with the viewer. Better are
Richmond Burton's poetic conglomerations of dabs. -B.D.



Worlds Apart: Core Fellows 1995 at the Glassell School	4/23

This work acknowledges itself as part of the real world instead of hiding
behind pristine gallery trappings. Even if you don't sit in Don Carroll's
penalty box, it works: it isn't fussed over and the sign is not too nice nor
too ugly. The word "penalty" added to the box is a slight flaw (too clever). 
When you sit in Don's car it's dirty and smelly and has mildew in it: it's
good the way art is supposed to be, as a very tangible physical experience. I
like Mark Allen's weird prickly drawings but they sit uneasily in their
serious frames. -Delfina



Liz Ward at Moody Gallery	4/29

Drawings of tree rings on plywood and paper. The beautiful congruency
between the growth processes of a tree and the process of these delicate
drawings is stated best in the simplest drawings on pastel paper, like
scientific contour maps and intricate doodles at the same time. Other
works are  slightly marred by atmospheric backgrounds and unneccesary
overlapping. Ward pushes the tree-ring connection too hard by adding darker
"growth" lines at intervals and inserting lines of pointed irregularities
simulating branches which weaken the spontaneous doodle-like quality of
the best drawings.-B.D.



Ibsen Epada at McMurtrey Gallery                                     	4/29

These formulaic paintings are made without mistakes, and without
surprises: one layer is filled in after another with little or no connection.
First the canvas is divided into halves with some color areas, then
ladder-like printed stripes and several layers of Juan Gris neo-cubist lines 
are added, until the painting is full. This is lazy work.-B.D.



Address correspondence to: 

Bill Davenport, 801 Tulane St., Houston, TX 77007



Look for ARTLETTER #3 on April 15