Henry Taylor At Mesler & Hug

Another show Joe and I enjoyed very much was the sprawling installation/series of drawings, paintings and sculpture by Henry Taylor at Mesler & Hug. We spoke about an interesting shift in what art galleries are now presenting, moving away from freshly-churned-out-of-UCLA-grads to more seasoned, mature artists with a body of work to show their worth. Henry Taylor's work has something to say about our common recent history (as opposed to, say, people "expressing themselves through their art"), in a smart but humble and desultory way, without verging in self-righteous propaganda à la Thomas Hirschhorn. I found this show touching, and also sweet. It reminded me a little bit of Martin McMurray.