Gallery Hop: André Butzer Shows Off Big at Metro Pictures
When I walked into [Metro Pictures] the other day, I was struck by the enormous painting displayed in the rear gallery. The way the place is laid out, I could immediately see the back room (which is ironically called "Gallery One") upon entering. The arches between the rooms are wide, so the whole gallery is visible at once. This painting was ruling the entire scene. I liked all of [André Butzer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Butzer)s large paintings with their massive textures and hyper-abstract elements, but this one was obviously chosen to be the centerpiece. The huge 30 feet long painting that stood center stage (center wall actually) loomed over everyone in the gallery with disembodied heads, vibrant colors and textures that seemed to require truckloads of paint. His interpolation of Edvard Munchs The Scream could be found in this painting (and several others). He is also quite fond of the death mask. I imagine that these paintings were very expensive to make, piling on all of that paint. The texture was so severe that the paintings were growing in three dimensions.
His smaller works, however, seemed a little tossed off with rudimentary figures and little in the way of color. His signature style is to use cartoon-like elements (his homage to Walt Disney), but I found so much of it to be trite, crude and nonchalant. My advice is to head straight to the big paintings where his trademark reigns.
Through May 3. Metro Pictures, 519 W. 24th St. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.), 212-206-7100.