Lars Elling Paintings

"Paintings" follows Lars Elling, the young Norwegian artist, through the first 15 years of his career. Many credit his success both in Norway and in New York to the seriousness--the absence of irony--with which he approaches a well-established art form, but the reproductions here make the case that it is also due to the poetic and inviting nature of his paintings. This is art that commits itself to communicating with viewers on a common ground. In an interview here, Elling is uncommonly articulate in explaining both his technique and his way of thinking about his work. With an essay by the noted poet and art critic David Shapiro, who has taught at Columbia, Princeton and Bard, and written texts for monographs on Jasper Johns, Jim Dine and Mondrian.