Laura Owens is the controversial champion of contemporary painting. Her work conjures strong opinions from other painters, who can’t seem to agree whether or not it is worthy of serious consideration.
Her large canvases reduce cliché imagery into a handful of boldly contrasting formal moves, such as this vs. thin paint; muted vs. saturated colors; mechanical vs. organic marks, etc.
If they could talk, they might claim that this is all painting really is — a handful of formal decisions enacted by a team of talented studio assistants. How cynical!
However, when I stand in front of her work, I feel a sense of joy and optimism from within. Owens’s paintings confront my inner skeptic by insisting that optimism and joy are worthy motivations for a serious artist.