Page 67 - Studio International - June 1966

There are times when Greene's appetite for diversity Albers as a concentration on the plane—'the in-between
overcomes him and he loads his compositions with shapes of volume and line'.
that fail to sustain themselves. But these are minor in- Snelson's `inbetweens' are transparent sheets of tilting
stances. What is important about his new work is his triangles that occur when he stretches wire-cable tautly
insistence on certain aesthetic observations. He raises between tubular forms. The geometric configurations
questions that matter, and he raises them with all the that occur as he intuitively calculates the tensions be-
accumulated skill of a serious, long-standing painter. tween his planes are varied and exciting.
In sculpture, I found the constructions of Kenneth Snelson works in large scale, and he stretches his pieces
Snelson at the DWAN GALLERY a welcome sign of respect broadly, so that a prospect from any stance gives the
for a vital tradition. Snelson works in an area charted by illusion of great spatial extension. The ground plan of
the constructivists, an area that is large and leaves him each piece is elaborate; the elevation invariably clear but
plenty of leeway for imaginative extension. His work can provocatively complicated. Whole airy infrastructures
be considered structural sculpture, defined by Josef may be read between the spaces. Most of Snelson's steel
dowels are painted white, but every so often he offers a
musical modulator in a colour accent, which usually
stresses the diagonal character of the composition.
Opposite
Stephen Greene A similar situation of diagonal extension is explored by
Thrust 1965 different means by Phillip King in his exhibition at the
Oil on canvas
58 x 58 in. FEIGIN GALLERY. His large composition Slant groups in-
Staempfli Gallery dividual sections supported by a floor extension, and
inclining in space— one plane to the right and one to the
left of an imaginary thread running through a midpoint.
When seen from one side, there is a strong pull toward
infinity in the criss-cross lines of the composition, but
when seen frontally it flattens itself into a rather mono-
tonous and overextended composition.
I found his large conical construction more interesting,
perhaps because it is more bizarre. The spaces between
the vertical sections don't seem to destroy the monolithic
character of the cone, which is really impressive. Al-
though I cannot understand the purpose of King's ugly,
Phillip King
Through 1966 dull colours—in this case red and green—I find his section-
Fibre glass al constructions audacious.
84 x 108 x 132 in.
Feigin Gallery

Kenneth Snelson
Foreground
Audrey 1 1966
Aluminium and steel
83-x 11 ft
Background
Audrey 2 1966
Aluminium and steel
8 1/2 ft x 18 ft x 9 in.
Dwan Gallery