Publisher's Synopsis
Lutes' work has been variously associated with Chicago imagism, Northwest Coast abstraction, so-called "bad" painting, and postmodern appropriation, to name a few. While none of these associations are wrong per se, to understand his work within the narrow context of any single movement would be a mistake. Lutes work is resolutely uncategorizable, an independent pursuit that acknowledges such art movements but never quite fits any given mold, which could arguably be considered the quintessential definition of a Midwestern artist.
Hamza Walker offers an introductory overview of Lutes' career to date, while Corbett's wide-ranging essay touches on connoisseurship, coffee, and cymbals in the process of refuting the false dichotomy of abstraction and figuration.