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Greenberg Van Doren is the Rolls Royce of St. Louis art
(by Dickson Beall - March 17, 2010)
There are no Rolls Royce ads on TV. Deep pockets know where to find the showroom.
There is one art gallery in town that is similarly quiet. Located in Grand Center, the Greenberg Van Doren Gallery is the St. Louis art destination for those art collectors who don’t have to struggle with the question of whether to buy a particular painting or several Rolls Royce cars.
That doesn’t mean that the rest of us are limited to looking through the glass windows of the street-level gallery to peek at works of international artists and drool. Yes, entrance is by door buzzer but once inside, a visitor is welcome to browse the main gallery at street level as well as the second floor — with additional gallery space and a contemporary art library that may be second to none in town. This library may also be the quietest one in town, and it reflects well on gallery founder Ronald Greenberg, who has spent a lifetime collecting both books and art.
Currently on view at the gallery are several oversize paintings. The large-scale “Flowers and Vase,” by Donald Sultan, is an 8-foot square, constructed of four panels on tile. The yellow ochre vase and sap green of the silhouetted flowers contrast dramatically with the deep black of tar. The richness of bold colors in latex, set against the flat plane of an oil derivative, point to a master at work, an artist at the top of his game and sure of his mark-making. Looking at each of the four panels as a painting in itself, yet dependent upon the whole, one appreciates the near abstractness that forms much of Sultan’s work.
In “Thinker” (named after Rodin’s famous sculpture), Robert Moskowitz has created a painting nearly 9 feet high, filled with the tension of a bold cutout pattern that plays negative and positive space against each other. The surface texture of the painting is reminiscent of the patina in a Richard Serra sculpture, with its flat plane of cortene steel, where time and weather have left their marks. Warm grays and rich blacks scar the surface in a waxy texture. A thin vermillion line delivers an awareness of human mortality; this delicate artery marks a boundary as it balances Dante before the gates of hell. Moskowitz reflects on this philosophically powerful abyss and makes his own poetry in paint. With the simplest of means, his expression of lonely angst is conveyed with the mass, strength and materiality often reserved for bronze or marble.
At first glance, Valerie Jaudon’s “Pharsalia” looks familiar, reminiscent of the patterns in a Frank Stella painting. Jaudon paints with wide brush, fully loaded, leaving thick textures in the bands of color.
Both Sultan and Moskowitz also reveal their indebtedness to history. Sultan, with his flatness, makes a nod to Manet. Moskowitz brings the content of Rodin’s iconic sculpture “The Thinker” to his monumental-sized painting, reducing the sculptural outline to a stark block cutout of paint.
Blue-chip art of this nature is nothing new to Greenberg, who opened his first gallery space in the early ’70s, across from the old Famous Barr in Clayton; his first exhibition was the work of Roy Lichtenstein. Prominent New York gallerist Leo Castelli gave Greenberg access to all the artists in Castelli’s stable, ranging from Jasper Johns to Helen Frankenthaler and Robert Rauschenberg.
In the early ’80s Greenberg moved from Clayton to Maryland Plaza in the Central West End and joined with John Van Doren. In 2005 they moved to their present location on Washington at Grand.
Greenberg and Van Doren take seriously the educational function of a gallery. Attentive visitors to the St. Louis Art Museum will have noticed that, over the years, Greenberg has made significant loans and gifts to the museum. His gifts of two works a year to the museum have greatly enhanced the collection of contemporary art. St. Louis University, Washington University and Webster University have also benefited from Greenberg’s generosity.
It is a luxury to visit Greenberg Van Doren and enjoy the blue-chip art, exquisitely lit and generously spaced on the gallery walls. Although it is easy to be intimidated by such grand art space, the visitor will be warmly welcomed without any sales hassle. It’s very much like a Rolls Royce dealer.
• The artwork of Michael Bevilacqua, Valerie Jaudon, Donald Sultan, Robert Moskowitz and Kevin Zucker remains on display at the Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, 3540 Washington Ave., through April.
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