I wrote this unpublished work for Robin Pogrebin’s Exhibitions Reviews workshop as part of the SVA Design Writing, Research, and Criticism Summer Intensive course in 2021.
EXHIBITION REVIEW
Maxwell McMaster’s Solo Show “Love Songs” at Nucleus Portland
Evelyn “Champagne” King’s 1982 R&B single “Love Come Down” fills the gallery, drenching the space in a glittery, sun-soaked calm. It’s an apt soundtrack for Maxwell McMaster’s paintings, which are full of gauzy airbrushed gradients in pastel pink, periwinkle, and tangerine. Hearts, palm trees, and music notes are recurring symbols that appear in McMaster’s sparse sensual landscapes.
We’ve seen similar tropical-hued gradient landscapes in UI design, corporate illustration, and vector art. From a distance, or when viewed online, McMaster’s pieces look digital. But viewing the works up close reveals that they are expertly executed in physical media, with traces of pencil line peeking out beneath the paint. This is reason enough to see McMaster’s works in person.
Born and raised in Sacramento, McMaster was exposed to graffiti, hip-hop, and skateboarding as a teenager—all subcultures that have influenced his work. He moved to LA where he studied at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. His works, with a strong design influence, are distinctly California cool. In a 2019 interview in Juxtapoz, McMaster sites M.C.Escher and Dali as early influences, later looking to street artists like Barry McGee and Mike Giant. I see traces of Ed Ruscha in McMaster’s work as well, from painted typography to soft transitioning color palettes.
Most exceptional in the show is a series of paintings done directly on old LP record covers. Cleverly, McMaster has left some parts of the cover exposed, his own painting and the original design overlapping, interwoven, and rendered as a single composition. In one, a faceless trumpeter blends into a sherbet-hued sky. In another, a pair of dice spout blurry rainbows over a black background. In another, an airplane draws a heart in the sky above a lone palm tree. McMaster leaves very few clues as to what the original record was or what the sleeve looked like before he altered it. It’s clear that music has a strong influence on him, and more important than naming any particular record is the reference to vinyl itself. It’s enough to transport us into the nostalgic and retrofuturistic world he has created. In this world—our deepest feelings are expressed by our favorite songs, every love is the first, and the sun is always rising.
It’s a nice world. An oasis away from the weekend crowds outside on Hawthorne Boulevard. Portlanders have just started to come out of their shells after a dark Covid winter, gathering for Saturday brunch and streaming in and out of shops. But in the gallery, there is a sweet and introspective calm. The Supremes are now playing on the stereo. I find myself circling the gallery again, and again. I don’t want to leave this place just yet. McMaster has created a world that he, and I, would want to live in.
Maxwell McMaster solo show, Love Songs, on display June 5–21, 2021. Saturday & Sunday, 1–5pm. 1445 SE Hawthorne Blvd. McMaster’s show is the last show to take place in Nucleus Portland’s Hawthorne location. The gallery will continue showing works at its other location on 1524 NE Alberta St.