The Pictorial and The Material

John Yau on Thomas Nozkowski's paintings:

Increasingly in his work, Nozkowski subverts a deeply held and long cherished goal in painting, which is the unity of the pictorial and the material.

...

[His] painting was a vehicle for acknowledging diference, rather than a means of seeking harmony. His exploration of the mechanics and materiality of painting and drawing has led him to resist developing a style or what could be called a signature form of unity.

I enjoyed Yau's assessment of Nozkowski. One thing I have observed in Nozkowski's work is a preference for the visual over the material. The decision making process evident appears driven primarily by painterly optics of "difference". While there is a level of material exploration, it has always struck me as subservient to these optics. This isn't meant as a slight against Nozkowski's considerable achievement but it is a more accurate description of his work.