I overheard two artists in the gallery chatting about the deluge of abstraction that’s been around and one quipped to the other that abstraction flourishes in conservative times. Hard edge abstraction seemed the one to take a look at as it’s probably the most ubiquitous and the one that tends to get the most formal. I tend not to be so into formal and prefer when the formal is infiltrated by the personal. That is when abstraction sings to me. How the artist leaks the personal into the formal is the magic of what artists are. My simplest explanation of that process is the word “intentionality.” When I interviewed Andrew Masullo about his work for his November 2010 exhibition at Feature, he let me know that he didn’t consider his paintings to be abstract - abstracted from something - but rather he referred to them as nonobjective. It is an interesting distinction to consider. The seven artists in this exhibition are some of my favorite hard-edgers and all have formal concerns that have been usurped by their person. The eccentricities of their expressions hint that the coup may be achieved in endless ways. Ann Pibal is represented Meulensteen, New York; Todd Chilton, Chicago and Douglas Melini, New York, are not represented by galleries; Nancy Shaver, Cary Smith, Richard Rezac and Andrew Masullo are Feature artists.

TODD  CHILTON: Ramps and Flags, 2011; oil paint on linen; 25 x 23”

TODD  CHILTON: Argyle, 2011; oil paint on linen; 18 x 16”

ANDREW MASULLO: 4550, 2006; oil paint on canvas; 16 x 20”

ANDREW MASULLO: 5016, 2008-9; oil paint on canvas; 16 x 20”

ANN PIBAL: RNKT, 2010; acrylic paint on aluminum panel; 11.75 x 16.25”

ANN PIBAL: LROI, 2011; acrylic paint on aluminum panel; 12.25 x 15.75”

CARY SMITH:Juggernaut, 2011; oil paint, wax on canvas; 50 x 50”

CARY SMITH: Benchmark, 2011; oil paint, wax on canvas; 50 x 50”

DOUGLAS MELINI: Fluent Green, 2011; acrylic paint on canvas with hand painted frame; 23.5 x 19.5”

DOUGLAS MELINI: Fragrant Portal, 2011, 2011; acrylic paint on canvas with hand painted frame; 53.5 x 45.5”

DOUGLAS MELINI:The Broadest Bloom, 2011 acrylic paint on canvas with hand painted frame; 63.5 x 53.5"

NANCY SHAVER: The Aunts: Lucille, Helen and Ruth, 2011; wood, fabric, Flashe acrylic paint, house paint; 11 x 10.5 x 3”

NANCY SHAVER: Blue Night, 2011; wood, Flashe acrylic paint, house paint; 10.5 x 11 x 3”

RICHARD REZAC: Untitled, 2002; painted wood, aluminum, 46 x 72.5 x 1.5”

RICHARD REZAC: Untitled, 2008; painted cherry wood and aluminum; 25 x 25 x 1.25”