Garden of Desire

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on April 21, 2014 at 11:52am

Curator’s Comments:

 

Garden of Desire is an arresting, though subtly mechanical portrait.  The direct frontal stare of the subject accentuates the disembodiment of the head amidst a field of growing architectonic as well as biological forms.   The graduated but intense blue field in the background is a surprisingly minimalist counterbalance to the complex  imagery in the bottom half of the picture plane, but successfully brings visual weight and interest above the woman’s head.  The cobalt also nicely sets up a complementary color relationship with the orange hues in the face.  I feel the ambiguity of the rather sleek hair or hat shape gives the painting a Modernist feel, though there are no other clues in the picture to identify time or place. This piece actually appears less surreal than many of the other images in your portfolio.  There is an earthy familiarity to the figure, while the supernatural elements around her could be interpreted as influential ideas rather than intruding physical barriers or transformers.