In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney

Ahmed Bioud, 1961

Oil on paper

Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY

The exhibition "In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney" features many works on paper, a medium that is more vulnerable and easier to obtain than other materials like canvas or wooden panels, and is generally smaller in scale than traditional formal media, making works on paper easily dismissed as drafts. But this exhibition expresses a different view, that Beauford Delaney's works on paper showcase his more experimental side.

His works reveal a sense of ease and freedom. They are vivid and have obvious brushstrokes with no transitions, making the drawings feel relaxed. Some of the paintings contain short, superimposed lines that enrich the texture and visual depth of the paintings. I was impressed by his work, "Ahmed Bioud." The theme is a portrait of the artist's close friend. The artist didn't describe many details of the subject's features in the painting; the outline of the portrait is broken and overlapped with each other, creating a sense of memory together with the main color of yellow. This gave me more space for imagination about the unseen forms and the portrait's inner world. The work employs a combination of oil paint on paper, which presents a transparent sheen.

The exhibition focuses on Beauford Delaney's neglected, non-traditional techniques, such as oil and pastel on paper to express the artist's thoughts, but the overly dense display of small-sized works in paper media makes viewing the show tedious and fatiguing. If the exhibition displayed the works in themed sections, it might help regulate the viewer's pace and bring more interest to the audience. WC 244 ROSEN CHEN LUO