Diagnosis

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on December 12, 2020 at 10:04am

Curator’s Comments:

Diagnosis is a chilling piece. It attracted my attention on the site since I wanted to understand the figure crumbled on the floor that I glimpsed in the thumbnail. Folding into itself, the androgynous body appears small and vulnerable in warm local hues.  In direct contrast to the achromatic medical table and surrounding room, the figure is not so much threatened by the medical apparatus, as repelled by it.  The painting is psychologically engaging, and disturbing because of its multifaceted and complex interior space.  I’m curious if the row of windows was added simply because they were a part of the clinic used as a source, or if they were intended to counter the metallic gray surfaces with light. The diagonal slant of the floor’s edge further destabilizes the scene, and stability of the human subject. I find the decision to highlight the red crosses with color interesting; are they a tiny looming omen of danger or beacon of hope? While the title of the painting arguably reveals all that is needed for the viewer to understand the human anguish, I find the aesthetic choices cause further contemplation of the separation between the disease and the cure.  It is a sobering piece during these troubling times.