Description: In his engaging, puzzle-like paintings Michael Eastman uses words and figures as abstract elements and sometimes for their meaning as well. These works are not literal puzzles to be solved, instead they are artworks to be puzzled over: it is up to the viewer to discern whether a word or number is a message or simply a mark. "Kyu" refers to the Japanese symbol of that name; it is painted in vibrant turquoise. The words "opportunity" and "pepper" also appear on this two-part painting. View detail. Eastman often uses graffiti-like writing in making his paintings. Since Michael Eastman enjoys aping the look of naive art, we place him in that category. But, Eastman's approach to his work is cerebral, often witty, and quite abstract--not at all the urgent, direct attitude typical of a naïf or outsider artist. This series of paintings is called "Printed Matter Redesigned". Visit the Tribeca studio of Michael Eastman whose work is included in the collection of Hirshhorn Museum (Washington,DC) and the Mauntner-Markof Collection (Vienna, Austria).
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