Art & Exhibitions
At the Swiss Institute, Niele Toroni’s Millionth Polka-Dot?
THE DAILY PIC: The Swiss artist makes one size of brushstroke stand for all others.
Blake Gopnik
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THE DAILY PIC (#1335): I just came across the solo show by Niele Toroni at the Swiss Institute in New York. To say that today’s Daily Pic is typical of his work is a vast understatement: Since 1966, every last bit of Toroni’s mature work has consisted of short brushstrokes made with a broad no. 50 brush, spaced one foot apart on any number of different surfaces. It’s one of the classically obsessive gestures of conceptual art, not a million miles from On Kawara’s Date Paintings or Daniel Buren’s lifetime of work with awning stripes. The difference is that Toroni’s gesture is particular to the painter’s craft: Bottom line, what else has painting ever been than strokes of paint applied in different colors to varied surfaces? Toroni has simply distilled-out that gesture to its bare minimum. He makes Robert Ryman’s minimal experiments in white-on-white painting look positively maximal. (Photo by Lucy Hogg)
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