ART & ANTIQUESTe New Faith in PaintingMay 1991IN THE
GALLERIES MODERN SPECTACLEMetaphors and
MemoriesArtbasedonmotifsfromnatureofen overestimates the power of a
natural form to lend naturespowertosomethingsoartifcialasawork of
art.Matt Magee usesmotifsfromnature,butheimbuesthese
motifswithasenseofnostalgiaandpersonal history that adds up to a
sweet lucidity.When he was a boy Magee traveled with his father
allovertheworld.Ushash,asculpturewhich
consistsofstripsoftirerubbersewnintoalong
centipedalbraid,andChisos,apainting,both shareamemory Mageehadof
lifinglongstrands ofAfricanseaweed fromtheocean. Mageeritualized
thememoryby meansofweaving, inUshash,and refectsuponitall
inhispainting. Tepaintingsare limpidinsurface, lucid in
image.Magees work much more grave
nowthanhisearlierformulations,whichwere
almostfunkysucceedsincreatingartabout nature that drops the
pretense of being natural. (Berland-Hall Gallery, New York)ROBERT
MAHONEYChisos 1989
