Lisa N. Peters
In a review in the New York Times (Friday, July 16) of the exhibition Spray!–featuring eleven works spanning four decades of aerosol painting–the noted critic Roberta Smith paid tribute to Dan Christensen, writing
Dan Christensen, "Pavo," 1968, acrylic on canvas, 108 x 132 inches
. . . Dan Christensen, who died in 2007, provides what must be one of [the exhibition’s] landmarks. His “Pavo” from 1968 is the result of spraying giant off-kilter circles in several candy colors on a very large canvas. This loopy tangle—seemingly pressured by the painting’s edges—resembles a stop-action image of several Hula-Hoops on the loose or the track of a spinning top seen from above. It confirms the ease and flair with which Mr. Christensen, who was something of an art star in the 1960s, assimilated Process Art into painting. Its Beach Boys brilliance would hold its own among works by Jackson Pollock or Sigmar Polke, to name but two.
Dan Christensen, "Serpens," 1968, acrylic on canvas, 112 x 173 1/2 inches
Christensen’s monumentally scaled Serpens, also from 1968 fits this description as well. This painting is included in our current exhibition at Spanierman Modern, on view until August 7, 2010.
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