first published in Juxtapoz Magazine, December 20, 2019

Two Hands, One Brush: Tamsin Smith & Emilio Villalba Collaborate @ Adobe Books Gallery

THE PAINTER’S ALPHABET

Tamsin Smith + Emilio Villalba

Adobe Books Gallery

3130 24th Street, San Francisco

Exhibition: Nov 22-Dec 9, 2019

Painting collaborations are typically plagued by the inability of artists to let go of their own respective styles. Invariably, the painters end up grafting their independent gestures and motifs onto a single canvas. While we can call the resulting artwork a joint effort, it doesn’t usually present the viewer with new revelations. As exciting as the prospect of a successful collision may be, it is rarely achieved.

The joint work of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns in the 1950s comes to mind in this regard. They each generally took one portion of the canvas as their own territory. This compartmentalization usually meant that one artist was dominant…