Where does landscape end and abstraction begin? Perhaps at the point where the artist “abstracts” from a reimagined or recollected landscape, leaving in its place not merely a residue, an ash of light, but its very essence.
That, at any rate, is a question viewers may wish to confront at “Waterfalling,” the exhibition of work by renowned painter Elliott Green at the Lake George Arts Project’s Courthouse Gallery, on view through October 24.
That a gallery of this size could attract an artist of Green’s stature is a testament at least in part to the standing in the art world of its new curator, Dan Cameron, a critic, curator and, more recently, an acclaimed artist in his own right, who happens to have grown up in Hudson Falls.
Cameron, who also organizes shows at La Capilla Azul, an independent exhibition space on the island of Chiloé, in the Los Lagos region of Chile and at Varosy Studios, a gallery space corralled from the former studio of the late sculptor Gylua Varosy in Washington County, as well as undertaking projects throughout the nation and across the globe as an independent curator, scholar and critic, is based in New York City, although he maintains a studio in downtown Glens Falls.
“Waterfalling” is the first exhibition he has curated for the Lake George Arts Project.
“This was a show that I wanted to do because I liked the idea of ‘landscape abstracted,’” said Cameron. “This recent work could also be described as ‘figurative abstraction.’ These are landscapes, but if you look closely, these are not landscapes anyone would recognize. They have everything a traditional landscape painting has but actual mountains, hills and skies. He starts with a landscape but backs into abstraction. Now it’s about color, forms and brush stroke.”
Which is not to say that these are ‘invented’ rather than ‘discovered’ or ‘recovered’ landscapes.
“Although the logic in them is, shall we say, very liberal, everything in them is something I’ve seen somewhere. Everything is real to the world,” Green said.
According to Cameron, who has followed Green’s work since he first saw a solo show of the artist’s paintings in New York in 1989, landscapes have not always been among the painter’s major preoccupations.
“About 12 years ago, Green was awarded a coveted Rome Prize, which enabled him to spend a year in Rome. And he came back a different kind of a painter. Suddenly, you started seeing suggestions and quotes of landscapes in his work. There was no going back,” said Cameron.
“I thought it would it be great if I could place abstraction within a context of space. And I’m comfortable with the scale of these works. I can make a whole world with one swing of my arm,” Green said.
Green now lives and works in the Hudson Valley, across the river from Frederic Church’s estate, Olana, and just a few miles from the home and studio of Thomas Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School of landscape painting.
“Thomas Cole and Frederic Church reinvented the way we see and understand landscapes. Elliott Green is, in a way, doing the same thing. A painting of his is not a landscape, but then again, it’s not ‘not a landscape,’” said Cameron
Green acknowledges that there may be a connection, however tenuous, between his move to the Hudson Valley and his turn to landscape painting.
“I’m in the Hudson Valley and I’m making landscapes, which is not something I did before I got there, so perhaps there’s something in the air,” he jokes.
More seriously, he says he sees “the work (of the Hudson River School artists) in the environment. They were imagining (that) world in their way. I’m imagining it in my own way.”
Elliott Green’s work has been the subject of more than two dozen one-person exhibitions at galleries and museums throughout the U.S. His work is represented by Miles McEnery Gallery in New York.
Some of the paintings in Waterfalling were shown previously in 2023 in a solo exhibition at the Pamela Salisbury Gallery in Hudson, NY.
Because almost all shows at the Lake George Arts Project are planned at least a year in advance, “Waterfalling” was the only show Cameron was able to curate this season.
In the future, he plans to organize several shows a year; hopefully, enabling the gallery to develop a distinctive, curator-driven identity.
Cameron considers himself a pluralist. He isn’t likely limit himself to one school, one tradition or even one approach to art.
“All art weighs the same – in an ideal world, the audience for abstraction and the audience for landscapes is the same audience,” he says. “I think the idea that only one school or style of art is legitimate is one we’ve left far behind.”
As the Courthouse Gallery’s director, Cameron’s goal is “to present, lively, dynamic contemporary art projects that are engaging and thought provoking,” he said.
The Courthouse Gallery is located at One Amherst Street, Lake George Village, in the old county courthouse. It is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 pm and Sunday, noon to 4 pm. Call 518-668-2616 for information.
