Carl Ostendarp BLANKS at Elizabeth Dee

Carl Ostendarp: BLANKS, installation view. Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp: BLANKS
Elizabeth Dee
By PAUL LASTER, AUG. 2014

Within a sane, play it by the rules art world, eccentricity is sometimes hard to find, but it’s the first thought that comes to mind when looking at Carl Ostendarp’s show of new paintings. Monochrome paintings that are interrupted by the artist’s initials, the canvases are titled after Hammond organ jazz musicians from the 1960s and ‘70s—a period that Ostendarp continually investigates, both conceptually and aesthetically, in his practice.

The five paintings in the main gallery share a similar palette, in which the ground is pink/salmon color and the letters are a reddish brown. Titled John Patton, Jimmy McGriff, Trudy Pitts, Jack McDuff and Jimmy Smith, they have a comparable look but are actually each a different size, which is determined by a mathematical formula in relationship to the height and width of the gallery walls, and employ various layouts for the C and O. In the back gallery, however, the first painting, Shirley Scott, reverses the palette of five canvases up front, while the remaining three paintings (Charles Earland, Groove Holmes and Larry Young) form a unit where the colors interact.

Throwing a touch of ego into the sublime, Ostendarp uses typography sourced from hand-drawn lettering by Mad Magazine’s Don Martin, and has created an artist’s book that visualizes his process in an equally madcap vein.

The exhibition is at Elizabeth Dee on view through September 6, with a closing reception from 6 to 8 pm on the final day.


Carl Ostendarp, John Patton, 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 59 1/2 x 88 3/4 inches.
Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp, Jimmy McGriff, 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 45 5/8 x 93 5/8 inches.
Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp, Trudy Pitts, 2014. Acrylic on canvas 55 1/2 x 57 3/4 inches.
Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp, Jack McDuff, 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 75 7/8 x 59 5/8 inches.
Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp, Jimmy Smith, 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 63 1/4 x 102 1/4 inches.
Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp: BLANKS, installation view. Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp, Larry Young, 2014. Acrylic on Canvas, 51 3/8 x 50 inches.
Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp, Charles Earland, 2014. Acrylic on Canvas, 48 1/2 x 74 3/4 inches.
Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp, Groove Holmes, 2014. Acrylic on Canvas, 58 1/2 x 70 inches. Photo by Etienne Frossard,
Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp, Shirley Scott, 2014. Acrylic on Canvas, 67 1/2 x 66 inches.
Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York

Carl Ostendarp: BLANKS, installation view. Photo by Etienne Frossard, Courtesy the Artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York