Little Sister

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on June 9, 2015 at 8:06pm

Curator’s Comments:

 

There is solid and substantial brushwork in these abstract portraits; Little Sister in particular has a robust strength alongside intonations of personal mystery.  The social dynamic in the picture appears to be a candid beach scene including the sitters, but the erasure of their individual features and identities constructs a space that is ultimately more cubistic or design oriented than pictorial. The warm hues convey a sure fleshiness of form and beautifully merge with both warm and cool blues. The value pattern further adds strength in its shifting contrasts of deep blue and pale peach. I see the structure behind them as a loosely painted boat; perhaps because of the contextual clues more than the specificity of the forms themselves. Both works that carry the Little Sister titles are confident and sure, and suggest the manipulation of a highly personalized style.  While I enjoy the painterly broken color in the green bathing suits, I do prefer the later piece because of the tilted angle of the central subject. It adds an element of movement, and throws the viewer off center just a bit.