New Paintings / New Collages (2010-2012)
Homage to Russell Page, 2012, oil, acrylic, and palladium leaf on canvas, 72 x 90 inches
New Paintings / New Collages (2010-2012)
Kushner uses a relatively restrained grisaille color palette to explore the interplay between the natural world, specifically seasonal flora, and abstracted geometric backgrounds. Kushner’s content is consistent with his longtime interest in the conceptual and political implications of the decorative, while his newly muted color scheme lends his favored iconography a sense of gravitas.
In these large-scale paintings, Kushner combines organic representational elements with flat, geometric grounds of solid or textured color. In doing so, he acknowledges a unique range of influences, including Islamic and European decorative arts, Chinese and Japanese sumi-e ink painting, and American abstract painting.