Norm Kirby & Anthony Delia

This spring and summer, art distinguished by marks that resemble script has been visible in galleries all over the Garden State. The furious scratch, the tally-mark, the vigorous jotting, the secret alphabet, the doodle that coalesces into a rune: all of these imply a writer with a tremulous hand, a human being recording his impressions in a private language that only he can read.

 

“All Rise” is the fullest realization of the trend. That it hangs in a historic courthouse dedicated to the memory of a powerful and plainspoken disciple of the English language might be an accident, but it doesn’t feel that way.

 

In practice, it’s more like a vote of no confidence.