Catherine Goodman’s first solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth in Downtown Los Angeles introduces a shift towards abstraction, broadening her artistic repertoire beyond landscapes and portraits. Drawing inspiration from life and films, Goodman’s paintings exhibit lively brushwork and vibrant surfaces, reflecting her dedication to capturing moments and sensations. The show runs until May 5, 2024.

Catherine Goodman: New Works / Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles. Opening reception, February 27, 2024.

— Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.

Exhibition text (excerpt):

For her inaugural solo exhibition in Los Angeles, London-based artist Catherine Goodman presents a new series of monumental abstract paintings, marking a significant progression in the artist’s visual language. Goodman’s characteristically animated surfaces and energetic brushstrokes have long been signatures of her expressionistic landscape paintings, portraits and sketches. Now, as she moves into abstraction, the distinctive vitality of her art takes on a new, immersive power.

Central to Goodman’s artistic process is the act of drawing directly from life, a practice she has maintained every day for decades. This unwavering commitment to drawing underpins a deeply intuitive mode of artmaking that combines her outward physical observations with sensations pulled from her inner imagination and memories of specific places or experiences. Often working across multiple canvases at once, Goodman sees her painting practice as a means of inhabiting the moment.

For decades, Goodman has maintained a regular practice of drawing from films, pausing a film for six minutes and completing drawings using ink, pastels and watercolor. The resulting sketches inform the imagery and mark-making of her paintings, including her new abstract canvases on view in the exhibition at Hauser & Wirth. ‘Night beekeeper II’ (2023), takes its inspiration from the 1973 film ‘The Spirit of the Beehive,’ directed by Victor Erice.