Andrew Cornell Robinson on Linda Griggs and Allen Hansen
Allen Hansen, Unraveling Coil #2, 2023, Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
In the realm of artistic marriages, the relationship between painters Linda Griggs and Allen Hansen stands as a testament to the enduring power of creative dialogue and partnership. With their current exhibition, Feedback Loop, on display at the New York Artist's Equity Gallery, Griggs and Hansen invite viewers into a world where contrasts and parallels converge—a poignant exploration of shared questions and divergent paths in painting from realism into abstraction.
For over three decades, Griggs and Hansen have navigated the intricate terrain of life and art together, shaping each other's creative trajectories in profound ways. The show's title, Feedback Loop, encapsulates the dynamic interplay between their distinct artistic voices—a dialogue of differences and convergences that reverberates throughout this exhibition.
Linda Griggs, Pool, 2022, Oil on canvas w selective varnish, 60 x 60 inches
Griggs' meticulous realism captures American nights with an introspective lens, depicting dark pools of suburban ennui and evening landscapes that resonate with quiet melancholy. Through her intimate portrayals, Griggs invites viewers into a world of shared experience—a testament to the transformative power of nostalgia.
In contrast, Hansen's abstractions navigate neo-romantic landscapes of memory and perception, evoking a sense of the real through fictitious light sources and sensory geographies. His reduction of complex forms to elemental shapes invites viewers into a realm of transcendent beauty and existential inquiry—a dialogue between the tangible and the ethereal.
Allen Hansen, Deconstructed Coil (Pool Study), 2023, Oil on canvas, 42 x 50 inches
The juxtaposition of Griggs' emotive narratives with Hansen's conceptual explorations echoes the influences of artistic predecessors such as David Hockney and Mark Rothko. While Hockney's idyllic poolside tableaus evoke Southern California optimism and leisure, Griggs offers a counterpoint of vulnerability and resilience. Hansen's abstractions resonate with Rothko's transcendent color fields, inviting viewers into a powerful emotional space for quiet meditation and reflection.
Central to Griggs' artistic inquiry lies the challenge of painting water—an elemental substance that transcends mere depiction. In her hands, water becomes a metaphor for the infinite complexities of human experience, capturing the ever-shifting interplay of light, shadow, and reflection. In contrast, Hansen's abstractions magnify droplets of color to reveal worlds within—a space below the surface that invites viewers into a journey of introspection and discovery. While Rothko’s color fields envelope the viewer in an atmosphere, Hansen’s canvases submerge us under the surface.
Linda Griggs, Lazy River, 2023, Oil and selective varnish on canvas, 44 x 64 inches
The juxtaposition of Griggs' emotive narratives with Hansen's conceptual explorations echoes the influences of artistic predecessors such as David Hockney and Mark Rothko. While Hockney's idyllic poolside tableaus evoke Southern California optimism and leisure, Griggs offers a counterpoint of vulnerability and resilience. Hansen's abstractions resonate with Rothko's transcendent color fields, inviting viewers into a powerful emotional space for quiet meditation and reflection.
While these abstract and representational paintings look right together, it isn’t because of their small similarities in varnish and palette. It is a feeling of acquiescence to the sublime. From the domestic calm of Griggs’ swimming pools to Hansen’s colorful abstract fields punctuated by dappled color, the works are steeped in a quiet melancholy. They share a murky undertow, like skinny dipping on a hot summer night. Altogether, these paintings make for a place of comfort and vulnerability, a night swim giddy with tension.
Feedback Loop: Linda Griggs & Allen Hansen, New York Artists Equity Gallery: February 8 through March 2, 2024
Andrew Cornell Robinson, Ganymede's Canyon, 2024, Oil and mixed media on wood panel, 48 x 48 inches,
Andrew Cornell Robinson is a NYC based interdisciplinary artist known for his gestural, figurative paintings and ceramics inspired by queer and peculiar historical revisionist narratives. He studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art, received an MFA in painting from the School of Visual Arts, and he is a member of the faculty at Parsons School of Design and Marymount Manhattan College. IG: @acrstudio
