Artist Scott Covert might be the world’s most eccentric autograph hunter. He visits the graves of the famous and infamous, bringing massive canvases with him and rubbing into them the names, dates and other details from the headstones. He then twins the layered rubbings with abstract expressionist coloring. We considered the paintings a celebration of notable (and occasionally tragic) figures’ lives and an expression of the subtle relationship between the passage of time, geography and the paintwork. Or so we thought.

Mr. Covert emerged at Edelman Arts last Wednesday for the launch party for his solo show, titled ”The Dead Supreme,”   and we explained to him how we appreciated his Rat Pack piece (seen at left) and admired how the gold background represented everything that these men were and stood for: showbiz.

“Yes, I like working with glitter,” was his response. Read More