Julian Rogers returned to Red Arrow Gallery in July with a series of paintings of clouds. Rogers chose his subject specifically because clouds are full of color, light and texture, but mostly unburdened by meaning. Rogers’ show was a bold — and kind of funny — strike against contemporary art’s outsized preoccupations with content: identity, politics, various narratives intended or otherwise. Wave Upon Wave was a jubilant celebration of art for art’s sake that Nashville needed very badly, and it’s only the latest indicator that the tides are already turning in an art space jammed with messages, signals, figures, stories and manifestos. Rogers’ canvases featured cracked, digitally inspired palettes executed with exquisite brushwork, making a strong case for the primacy of look-at-able-ness in contemporary art.
