Two Coats of Paint has recently learned of the death of Gordon Fraser, a talented artist and art blogger who penned The Blind Swimmer, of a heart attack after undergoing a series of treatments for colon cancer.
Tag: Gordon Fraser
Recent posts: Two Coats of Paint
Joan Semmel’s simple truth
Contributed by David Carrier / Ernst Gombrich’s The Story of Art opens with a surprising juxtaposition of two drawings. One portrays Rubens’ handsome little son, the other Dürer’s aged mother. Of the latter Gombrich says: “His truthful study of careworn old age may give us a shock which makes us turn away from it – and yet, if we fight against our first repugnance we may be richly rewarded, for Dürer’s drawing in its tremendous sincerity is a great work.” Gombrich was, to be sure, a conceptually conservative art historian. But this declaration is a perfect introduction to the once iconoclastic Joan Semmel’s “In the Flesh,” now on view at the Jewish Museum.
NYC Selected Gallery Guide, May 2026
Yes, we have art fairs in town this month, and I’m looking forward to swinging by ESTHER III, a kind of alternative embodiment of the concept at Estonian House on 243 E. 34th Street from May 13–16. Thomas Erben is bringing work by Mike Cloud and a few of my other favorite NYC galleries will be there, King’s Leap among them. Reserve free tickets now. Also on the must-see list this month is “The Moment and the Distance,” a big Helen Frankenthaler solo at Gagosian,…
Hudson Valley (+ Vicinity) Selected Gallery Guide, May 2026
Contributed by Karlyn Benson / The Hudson Valley art scene is ramping up for the summer season with some great exhibitions opening this month. Requited Configurations opens at RUTHANN on May 1 with work by Natalie Beall, Charlotte Beckett, Damien Davis, Mark Dion, Shanti Grumbine, Nicholas Hamilton, Peter Hoffmeister, Jessi Li, David Lukowski, Scott Penkava, Monika Zarzeczna, and Steph Zimmerman. On May 2, openings include…