Bill Traylor is at David Zwirner through February 15.
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Today, only four years of his output remain, yet we have about 1,200 works.
Some of these masterpieces are now on view atDavid Zwirnerat 34 East 69th Street.
He was determined to grab as much of that work as he could.
At one time, he owned the largest collection of Traylors art.
Before he died in 2016, William decided to use his collection to help the nonprofit Harlem Childrens Zone.
Someones feet might be just on the bottom of the page.
This isnt some quaint, folksy art.
Traylor is up there with Picasso in this formal regard.
Traylor depicts guns, vicious hounds chasing black people, plantation life, beatings, chaos.
Almost everything Traylor depicts hes witnessed, whether in life, photographs, or dreams.
Back in 1982, the art world was solidifying into movements and styles; modernism and postmodernism were gods.
Almost nothing from the outside world was let in.
His imprint is as distinctive as any artist who ever lived.
His story is a vision of hell, but the work is transcendent and essential.
Bill Trayloris at David Zwirner through February 15.
