For Immediate Release:


For Immediate Release: Bhaskar Krag Paintings at Jay Grimm Gallery, Chelsea Jay Grimm Gallery at 505 West 28th Street, New York, will hold an exhibition of paintings by Bhaskar Krag from January 18 to February 10, 2001. There will be a reception at the gallery on Thursday, January 18, from 6-8 P.M.

Bhaskar Krag's bright abstractions contain sweeping forms that initially seem to assemble out of a random application of paint. The logic in the paintings appears slowly, as the viewer gradually becomes aware of Krag's patient process. With a loaded brush, he contrasts colors and tints to create a flickering patter of light. The shapes and color-fields that emerge from the impasto combine in unexpected ways to create the composition.

These works exist firmly within the tradition of abstraction and eschew avant-garde pretensions. Krag seems most interested in trying to perfect a balance between the picturesque and the sublime. By taking up this argument, which is as old as landscape painting itself, Krag creates fresh and lively works that do more than rehearse ancient dialogues. In fact, by acknowledging tradition, Krag avoids the pitfalls of fashion and addresses the more timeless aspects of art. In this regard, Krag seems to be part of the movement in contemporary painting toward emphasizing beauty.

Bhaskar Krag is a New York-based painter who has shown at Oberlin College, Ohio and at The Educational Alliance in New York City. He was in a three-person show at Jay Grimm Gallery in 1999. Krag's studio is a regular stop on Art Walk, which benefits the Coalition for the Homeless, and he has been included in exhibitions at the SoHo Center for the Visual Arts and the New York Public Library. Krag received his BFA from the University of Connecticut in 1978.

Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11-6 P.M. and by appointment. Please call the Gallery at 212.564.7662 for images or additional information, or visit our website at www.jaygrimm.com.