Fragrant Hill

“I consider the reconciliation of elements from divergent traditions of painting.”

In November 1978, Carrie Rickey of Arts Magazine wrote a scathing review of Edward Youkilis’s art, “ . . . he’s a settler in the dominion of Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis . . . his canvases resemble peeling flesh . . . they’re badly derivative, half-apologetic at their pedantic homage.” Despite Rickey’s opinion, Rose chose to include Youkilis in American Painting: The Eighties, a testament to her courage to go against the grain.

Fragrant Hill conveys circles and squares and half-spheres with expressiveness, combining the rigor of geometry with the emotion of gesture. Youkilis grew up in Cincinnati, earned an MFA from Yale University, and worked as an assistant to Helen Frankenthaler. He also worked in nightclubs and restaurants. In 2001 he opened his own place, Edward’s, on West Broadway in New York City, where he serves Cincinnati cuisine such as chili and ribs.