John Goodrich examines relationship between color and form in latest show

Addison Houses (2023, oil on canvas) by John Goodrich

By ALISON MARTIN

The Bowery Gallery in Chelsea is currently presenting The Color's the Thing, an exhibition of recent paintings by John Goodrich. For this show, Goodrich presents a mix of landscape pantings, still lifes, and character studies all of which encourage the viewer to consider the relationship between color, shape, and open space. 

Rembrandt is a major inspiration for Goodrich and Goodrich includes several paintings inspired by various renditions of Rembrandt's early skecthes including Bastion in Amsterdam, Three Women at the Entrance of a House, and Rembrandt's reclining nude series. Many of the landscape paintings in this show are countryside scenes of houses, water, cars etc. In Addison Houses, you can see the reflection of the houses in the water. In still-lifes such as Two Red Peppers,you can see how the bold red color of the peppers and their curvy shape and the large size compared to placed in the middle of a small, square table with other fruits and a bottle. 

Two Red Peppers (2021-23, oil on board) by John Goodrich

Another landscape painting that was inspired by Rembrandt is Bastion in Amsterdam of which Goodrich offers three different versions. The paintings feature a windmill as the focal point and is placed in a seemingly deserted spot by the water surrounded by a cluster of houses. Goodrich makes use of shape with the tall chimneys, triangle roofs, and square bodies of the houses. However, the color of the houses, the windmill, and even theland on the bottom vary in each piece. Goodrich uses dark colors to depict the interior of the home in Three Women at the Entrance of a House, another rembrandt inspired piece. In Goodrich's version, he illustrates how the light blues and whites depicting the sky, represent the brightness of the outside world. About this collection, Goodrich says "We recognize the objects around us by their visual aspect, leaping from primal sensations, patterns of light and dark, warm and cool to familiar entities: a car, house, tree. Rarely do we consider the vast perceptual gap in between. Painting reawakens us to the process of seeing, providing a singular account of the world, one intensified through the directing powers of line and the pressures of color."

At the Bowery Gallery, 547 W. 20th St., through Jan. 27. The gallery is open Tue.-Sat. from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.