One of my all time favorite living painters; Mark Tansey is a thinking man’s artist. Never too serious (yet very serious at the same time). He’s always adding just the right amount of humor to his work yet somehow manages to comment on the entire history of Philosophy and the language of pictures and representation. He is also one incredible draftsman… Check out Amy Scott’s nice little breakdown of his work for her students here. Great books on his work here.
Picasso & Braque
Robbe–Grillet Cleansing Every Object in Sight
If there were a painting about the theory of painting, or simply about theory, it might look something like Mark Tansey’s work. He takes art history, philosophy, critical theory, and key terms and buzzwords as the subject and content of his art. A pantheon of twentieth-century thinkers and artists appear as actors in the theaters of his paintings….
Via The Walker Art Center
