If “Xstraction” is a fair indicator, abstract painting is in a desultory state these days. The works here, by 36 artists, represent a wide range of familiar approaches.

The greatest number of participants focus on materials and processes. Andrew Sutherland made his large all-white Robert Ryman-like piece by applying unfolded and painted plastic trash bags to a stretched canvas, creating a pleasing surface of grided folds and creases. Ayan Farah stains see-through pieces of cotton silk with pale dyes and stretches them around wooden frames. Oscar Murillo adds small smudges and smears of paint and pieces of tape to dirtied raw canvases. While ostensibly unorthodox, works like these and many others in the show, including those made by digital means, invite a traditional connoisseur’s appreciation of formal aesthetics. Read More