by Kenneth Baker
Best new work of art, period
All right, not even I believe this apples-over-oranges category makes sense. But I have a candidate, and it remains on view (through Jan. 31): Sherié Franssen's painting Group in Sea (2008), which appears in her exhibition at Dolby Chadwick in San Francisco.
Anyone who makes anything - especially a static object - knows the difficulty of making all its parts come to life without turning to mere fizz, aesthetic or otherwise. Franssen has this peculiar athleticism - not unfailingly, as her show demonstrates - but often enough to make her work unforgettable. Group in Sea displays it in full force.
Sherié Franssen | Group in Sea, 2008 | Oil on canvas | 77 x 81 inches