Installation view, Garnets on the Boulder, Jay DeFeo Paintings of the 1980s, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, October 30 - December 13, 2025. © 2025 The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Photo: Steven Probert.
“Garnets on the Boulder: Jay DeFeo Paintings of the 1980s”
Where: Paula Cooper
When: Through December 13
Why It’s Worth a Look: Jay DeFeo was a lifelong resident of the Bay Area, and this show reflects the rich artistic traditions and landscapes of Northern California during her lifetime. DeFeo’s abstract expressionist oil paintings take a sweeping approach to form, while a collection of small paintings in the gallery’s front room constrain the rolling hills of central California to a limited canvas.
Know Before You Go: DeFeo worked on her physically and metaphorically monumental painting, The Rose, for eight years; this show is all about what happened after. The survey reflects her renewed energy and commitment to oil painting during that period before her untimely death in 1989.