Judith Linhares Hearts on Fire at P P O W

James Kalm was still studying art at a provincial university on the G.I. Bill in 1978 when he hears about an influential exhibition at an aptly named institution The New Museum in New York. The title of the show is “Bad Painting” curated by Marcia Tucker. Having recently returned stateside from a couple of years in Germany, and having seen some of the nescient efforts of the German Neo-Expressionists, your correspondent is intrigued with the parallels of this heretical approach to painting and its relation to the European Trans-avant-garde. Fast forward to the new millennium, and again, history seems to, if not repeat itself, then at least it rhymes. Figurative painting is creating controversy, and getting a bit of attention, and as one of the original cast of the “Bad Painting” show, Judith Linhares is working and producing some of the best work of her career. Now, with maturity and mastery, she presents a sizable group of new pictures, not only of her feministic narratives but a suite of intimate scales still lives of flowers. James Kalm is able to button hole Judith just before she leaves, and have a brief interview regarding Judith’s views on the history of painting, how she constructs her narratives, and what it was like to have been included in “Bad Painting”. A musical introduction is provided by Atom Dove. This program was recorded February 14, 2019. Bad Painting New Museum digital archive link: https://archive.newmuseum.org/exhibit...