"NORTH AND SOUTH CONNECTED"
A small but important show outlining affinities both subtle and strong between some postwar abstract artists and the Columbian civilizations. In some cases, it's a matter of direct quotation: a small, vividly colored grid painting by Alfred Jensen makes enigmatic use of the numbering system of the Maya; an exquisite weaving by Anni Albers (Josef's wife) is ringed with braided string, suggestive of quipu, the system of knots used by the Incas for cross-country communication. Other connections are more oblique, as in the hieroglyph-like images of a classic painting by Adolph Gottlieb. The twentieth century works here are well chosen, but the ancient Peruvian textiles are magnificent.
Through Jan. 30. (Torres, 140 Greene St. 431-5869.)
The New Yorker, 18 January, 1999
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