11 Nov 2016

Liza Bingham: Hot Pink, Soft Pink, Rusty Orange, White

How's Howard?

Reviewed by Elizabeth Michelman

Liza Bingham’s small “upholstered” works of acrylic and oil on muslin-covered panel are inartful and fresh. Bingham defies the norm of flatness by shredding the edges of the muslin, lapping it awkwardly over the rims of the wooden support and under-padding her gritty surfaces. She hangs the pieces unframed and leans a few on bright plastic chair-backs.

Dragging a loaded brush around a template, she introduces accidental variations to a repeated master shape. The ragged contours press outwardly on the perimeter; inwardly they enclose a few smudges and stains floating in a scumbled, amniotic void. In some sensual variants, two jagged forms interleave.

Bingham’s minimal color contrasts individuate the paintings. Some blaze like a Rothko; others are cold and aloof. A sunset of lavender fondles pinks and orange; streaks of Prussian blue bathe in a sea of fleshy orange-yellow; orange and ochre slash into lazy smears of pale pink. Each piece compels us to look and holds us apart.