21 May 2018

Abel Macias: All at Once in Every Place

SCAD Museum of Art

Reviewed by Andy Gambrell

Abel Macias's paintings and sculptures are imbued with impetuosity that could make a Fauve blush. The artist's economical drawing style generates simple, landscape-inspired forms upon which to apply paint as paint. In the small oil The Road (2018), Macias juxtaposes two highly-saturated colored lines and a dark line against a field of textured grays. While stylistically whimsical, the artist's use of color betrays formal training and a solid grasp of color theory. Johannes Itten would be proud of the dexterous displays of contrasts.

The paintings in the show generally fall into two categories, smaller works composed of shapes filled with impasto, and larger works composed of shapes packed with scribbled lines. The paint quality of the latter is akin to a dry-brushed Jonathan Lasker, with faux-naif brushwork to match. "All at Once in Every Place" is as imaginative as it is well-executed, a wonderful abstract tribute to the landscape of the American Southwest.