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Robert Kushner’s I ❤ Matisse, on view from May 6- June 19 at DC Moore Gallery, is a cheeky yet serious exploration. Among the varied influences in Kushner’s oeuvre, from Japanese screen painting to American modernism, Henri Matisse’s influence has often been a continual through-line as Kushner finds resonance in Matisse’s inclination toward design, love of pattern, beauty, expressive drawing, and vibrant color. 

During the time of Covid-19 lockdown and ongoing stasis, Kushner found himself by himself in his studio as the surrounding world became more ominous, and divisive.  It was in this state that he began an imaginary dialog with the earlier artist and took pleasure and focus in the endeavor. In a statement of fanciful reverie at the beginning of the pandemic, a time when the sound of ambulances coursed through empty streets near his NYC home and studio, he wrote:

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As this painting series evolved, Kushner employed Matisse’s still life compositions, color harmonies, and objects to create something new. Like Matisse, Kushner is fascinated by textiles. The vibrant presence here of fabrics became an important touchstone continuing his use of artisanal fabrics in prior works. Matisse's vases and objects have been replaced by Kushner’s own collections of ceramics and textiles, each element carrying personal history and associations of travels and friendship, including a Delft vase from his friend and mentor, Amy Goldin, and a 1980s vase made collaboratively by artist friends Joyce Kozloff and Betty Woodman. These surrogates bring an autobiographic substrate and a sense of sweet, sometimes melancholic, personal nostalgia. 

Across these compositions, joyous colors run rampant over curvaceous flowers and fruits as well as the strict geometry of table tops, walls, and windows.