What to See in N.Y.C. Galleries in November
will Heinrich
november 7, 2024
Reginald Madison: "Lucid Dreamer" at Rachel Uffner
October 25–January 11
Reginald Madison’s painting “Hot House 2,” the highlight of his show “Lucid Dreamer,” is named after a bebop standard performed by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and if you wanted to, you could find some pretty one-to-one correspondences. The back and forth shimmy of the two intestine-like forms, one blue and one orange, that move down the sides of the canvas could easily stand for the exuberant loops of the musicians’ improvisations. (The blue line, one assumes, would be Parker.)
A cloud of black-and-white squares supplies smoky atmosphere, the tropical green of two overturned brackets is a nod to the literal meaning of “hothouse,” and the background of gray and black diamonds evokes a tile floor, a textile pattern or a star map in another civilization. (Madison counts the experimental musician and performer Sun Ra, too, among his influences.)
The relationship is deeper, though. Some of the works in “Lucid Dreamer,” Madison’s New York City solo debut — at age 83 — go back 25 years, though most are recent. And while they stick to a bold, Expressionist color palette, Madison reaches impartially for abstraction or figuration, for corners or curves, for brushes or balled-up rags, according to the needs of the moment. He might even use cardboard or wood; the show includes several wall-mounted works of assemblage, like a tower of found chairs cut into shapes like finger pianos.
Just as a jazz soloist cuts away conventional melody to reveal the sheer creative force of untrammeled chord changes, Madison creates a relentless, sideways energy by letting his every gesture lead freshly to the next.
