Kim Fisher Corundum (Saphire Gray Scale) (2004) oil on linen 84" x 68"

Kim Fisher Padparadscha 40 (2004) oil on linen 90" x 71"

Minimalism, a little ragged on the edges - and sometimes elsewhere. I liked the small show of large paintings by Kim Fisher at John Connelly, much more than I was prepared to. I thought I wanted to resist their appeal, I guess because it seemed too easy, but these abstractions really stick.

All my life I've been obsessed with minimalism, beginning well over 50 years ago (even before I jumped at the chance to simplify further the already-pretty-simple face of a gift watch after its disastrous encounter with too much moisture). The only thing which has changed is my ability to live with and eventually totally embrace the imperfection, messiness and glorious complexity of the world whose perceived ugliness drove me to the minimalist camp to begin with. Fisher's work seems to have survived the same odyssey.