Dispatch July 08, 2019
The Critic’s Notebook
by The Editors
On unorthodox art, theatrical do-overs, Proust, & more from the world of culture.
“Stephen Maine: Press Play,” at ODETTA (through July 27): When I first saw the mysterious paintings of Stephen Maine, I thought I was looking at halftone photographs blown up in a riot of complementary colors. But, in fact, the images I saw were imaginary. Those halftone dots were really the impressions of carpet nub that had been slathered in paint and stamped onto canvas as mono-prints. Since then, Maine’s printing materials, and the paintings that result, have become even more unexpected and unworldly. Now at ODETTA, “Stephen Maine: Press Play” invites us to wonder over both the images and image-making of these unusual and startling compositions. Artist receptions on July 13 and 27, 3–5 p.m. —James Panero