Winkleman Gallery’s show, Painting is History, reinvigorates historical painting with a range of takes on the genre that range from the unabashedly abstract to the alarmingly real. At one extreme is Steve Mumford’s The Battle in Baquba, a chaotic and expansive two-canvas painting could slip unnoticed into the pages of Newsweek. A scene that a war photographer would die to capture, it depicts a beset convoy snaking through the Iraqi city with guns ablaze, a missile suspended midair, and bullets chipping at every surface. Much closer... Read more

Winkleman Gallery’s show, Painting is History, reinvigorates historical painting with a range of takes on the genre that range from the unabashedly abstract to the alarmingly real. At one extreme is Steve Mumford’s The Battle in Baquba, a chaotic and expansive two-canvas painting could slip unnoticed into the pages of Newsweek. A scene that a war photographer would die to capture, it depicts a beset convoy snaking through the Iraqi city with guns ablaze, a missile suspended midair, and bullets chipping at every surface. Much closer to the prevailing trends in contemporary art is George Washington Melted 2 from Valerie Hegarty. The name explains the painting, in which George Washington’s face droops apoplectically on a ruptured canvas, revealing the aged and fractured supports behind.