Literature

Polly Apfelbaum: Hudson River Valley Nirvana. is a series of six woodblock prints. The series uses vertical lines and a square format as a starting point to explore the interaction of primary and secondary colors. Printed with dozens of narrow wooden blocks, the six works feature the same set of colors from an expanded chromatic scale that are repeated in different arrangements with a largely symmetrical structure applied to each image. The variation among the series showcases the unexpected results that can arise from a clear and controlled process. This compositional strategy recalls her early floor works and was an inspiration for a woven floor installation created for the Miss Dior exhibition at the Grand Palais, Paris, in 2012.

Hudson River Valley Nirvana, like many of Apfelbaum’s works, draws on diverse influences spanning art history, pop culture, and religion. The artist likened the chromatic effect of the prints to the dynamic skies captured by the Hudson River School painters. Apfelbaum herself spends time in the region, which is a short trip from her New York City studio. The Hudson River School is one among many of the prints’ artistic and cultural references. They relate to Minimalism with their fixed compositional structure, but also to psychedelic and Op art. The title of the series is loaded with allusions as well—for the artist, Nirvana refers equally to the Buddhist concept of enlightenment as it does to the Seattle grunge band. This combination of the “spiritual and punk rock” suggests that viewers are invited both to consider the nuances of the series in quiet contemplation as well as to take in the prints’ energetic colors in quick, unfettered moments.