American Analysis
Joe Andoe at Almine Rech, NYC
The American landscape has long been mined by artists since the founding of the United States. Often times these interpretations have been monumental or sentimental, but by the late twentieth-century, the American landscape could be configured in a multitude of ways. Joe Andoe has certainly added his voice to this canon as well, which can be seen in his latest exhibition Jubilee City at Almine Rech Gallery in New York. By using film and found photography as the basis for his imagery and style, Andoe’s paintings seem filled with searching and analysis.
Andoe’s own background seems to feed into his work. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Andoe includes pieces in this show that depict sweeping plains or images of animals. They’re vast and empty images that feel cinematic. His portraits of people are more intimate, but they still recall a close-up. The painting Mary, for example, looks like a shot of Nastassja Kinski in Paris, Texas. These images carry a certain dignity without feeling immense. They don’t carry the grandiosity like a Hudson River School painting. They are calm, serene images because they are devoid of narrative.
Along with cinema and the images of his youth, Andoe uses photography in interesting ways. By appropriating the photography used to create his paintings, Andoe creates a certain buffer from the subject matter. Arid fields and hills, wildlife, and winding highways that seem to makeup the Great Plains feel more critical and exploratory than nostalgic or overtly tender. Andoe seems to be asking why he (and our collective imagination) returns time and again to these kinds of environments and images.
While they do ask questions, Andoe’s paintings are balanced. They may be searching, but they are not cold or devoid of personality. In fact, they are brushy, filled with light, and undeniably beautiful. Even though the artist created a distance, there is still a sense of personal investment and wistfulness. This unique juxtaposition is what really makes Andoe’s work in this exhibition so successful and arresting.
