CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 8/19/2018

Elation and awe in 'All about Saul Leiter'

"In the spring of 2009, Saul Leiter and I unearthed a large black portfolio from under a heap of items in his bedroom. We gently laid the creaky old case on the bed and Saul opened it, revealing a number of watercolors he'd painted on tissue. The paintings were abstract but boldly took on impressions of windows, landscapes, and planetary outbursts. The paper was Japanese tissue and therefore translucent and fragile. As Saul held up each sheet, the room's soft light illuminated the textured paper; the painted hues changed each time the light hit, and the dabs and strokes of paint turned three-dimensional. The lightweight pages, caught by a slight draft, lifted away from us as if with the desire to float upward. For me this magical discovery was like stumbling into a painted paradise. I was elated and in awe. For Saul it was more like being reacquainted with old friends." —Margit Erb, from All about Saul Leiter, new from RM & Seigensha.