I fell in love with these paintings by well-known New York artist Ann Craven. They are a study in contradiction: mundane yet magical, whimsical yet serious, sweet yet sad. As The New Yorker wrote about her show last year at Maccarone, “You don’t need a press release to tell you that Craven’s subject isn’t roses at all, it’s the fleeting nature of everything: art, memory, life.”
.The variant speed and texture of Craven’s work makes it feel spontaneous, no small feat given her tendency to paint similar images countless times. In exhibitions, she has a penchant for juxtaposing nearly identical paintings, pairings that reveal the subtle distinctions between the artworks as well as their remarkable likeness. – Katie Stone Sonneborn in Pitch Magazine
.
Craven’s work at Maccarone (Jan/Feb 2011)
.Images from the artist’s website.