Why I love to hate Tansey

American painter Mark Tansey was a late discovery for me. The first picture I saw was Action Painting II, depicting a group of outdoor painters trying to capture a space shuttle launch on their canvases. It was funny, intelligent and to the point, and I giggled for about half an hour afterwards.

These days I just don’t know if I should hate or love him anymore. When looking at one picture at a time, it’s hard not to fall in love with it. When confronted by a larger collection of his work it feels like to much. It’s to smart, to ironic, to smug.

Tansey is either a brilliant technical painter with a frontline art theory, or just a Gary Larson for the elite. You decide.