sage Ja ! (say yes..)

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on September 12, 2022 at 10:54am

Curator’s Comments:

Sage Ja! (say yes..) appeared randomly on the site recently, and I was intrigued by the close juxtaposition of representational and stylized portraiture.  The abstraction of the figure in the foreground is interestingly inward looking while the mirrored reflected portrait, further away, directs our attention back to the abstract figure. I don’t interpret these figures as reflections of each other, which would have been expected with the setting and their spatial proximity.  Instead, the sideways gaze of the mirrored figure allows a kind of voyeuristic emphasis on the abstract face with downcast eyes.  I can’t interpret what the light gray face may signify in the painting’s narrative, but it certainly adds an aura of mystery and a mask-like separation of the head from the rest of the interior environment. I see this work was posted a decade ago along with a bimodal body of paintings; a significant number of works feature gestural abstraction, while the second grouping of images put forth a smooth realism, with the artists’ hand intentionally removed from the brushstrokes.  In that context, Sage Ja combines these diverse approaches.  I do hope you will consider sharing new work if you’re still active to the site.