On my calendar this spring is the Agnes Pelton: Desert Transcendentalist exhibition that was scheduled to open at the Whitney Museum of American Art on March 13th in NYC. Of course the show is now suspended as a result of COVID-19. The Whitney’s website now has the caption “Dates To Be Announced” under the exhibition heading. I’m skeptical, that when the Whitney does reopen, travel to NYC will be practical, but fingers crossed. I certainly would love the chance to her paintings in person. After New York, the exhibition travels to its final stop at the Palm Springs Art Museum in California. Again dates are TBD.

Sonia Gechtoff is a painter who continually explored shifting relationships between abstraction and figuration. Born in 1926 (d. 2018) she achieved early success on the west coast with a solo show at the de Young Museum, showing along side Clyfford Still, Frank Lobdell, Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, and John Altoon in LA.

There’s a lot going on in the world of painting right now. Personally, I’ve learned about several inspiring painters recently that have somehow flown under my radar for years. So I’m making an effort to make sure that I’m better informed. This month I’ll be highlighting two painters that I hope you will take the time to explore and get to know.