«For me, what keeps me engaged in making more objects... is the fact that there is still so few representations of Black
figures in painting at the center of the pictorial tradition.
Behind a trio of
figures in the painting Kompleks for example, there is a famous apartment building from Moscow — it's a quarter of a mile long, 16 stories high, with shops on its first floor and an underground train station below.
The French text in the title and the
shadowy figures in the painting itself suggest an homage to Picasso, even though the title refers specifically to an homage to the Berber pre-Arab tribe in North Africa.
Sam Gilliam, a forebear of Bradford's and a major innovator in 1960s abstraction, had fallen into obscurity; recent years have seen him receive international recognition as a
key figure in painting's radical escape from the traditional canvas ground.
For the past thirty years Sills has been noted for her life size
cutout figures in painted birch plywood portraying famous characters from art history, creating over 100 of them.
The artist was one of the
pivotal figures in the painting renaissance of the 1980s, along with Julian Schnabel and Jean Michel Basquiat, although his contributions to drawing, sculpture and printmaking should also be noted.
The show covers the last twenty or so years in the career of this
leading figure in painting here and across Canada, and is the latest in the MAC's series of monographic exhibitions devoted to artists of Dorion's generation.
Often referencing modern icons and
historical figures in his paintings, Kippenberger's Hand Painted Pictures are at once comical and tragic, serious and subverted, and some of the most important paintings in his oeuvre.
BP: The way you speak about the
male figure in these paintings, it's almost like he's waking up from a blackout — as if he's coming to and not quite sure of his surroundings.
Michael Werner Gallery, London, is pleased to present Body Shop, a group exhibition exploring depictions of the
human figure in painting and sculpture.
At just 26, the artist invites comparisons to the 61 - year - old Kerry James Marshall, and not only because they both exclusively describe the lives of
black figures in their paintings.
Even though I think of
the figures in my paintings as specific people, I think that by obscuring their faces, their identity is a little more open.
The figures in your paintings often seem hidden in some way, whether they are cropped out of the composition, appear as a silhouette, are covered by branches, or only their hands or feet are visible.
Of course in the story of Adam and Eve, there are no other people inhabiting the earth yet, so as a viewer my role is sort of ambiguous and open, but not participatory unless I think of myself as one of
the figures in the painting or as some omniscient presence.
She talks about why most of
the figures in her paintings appear to be doing nothing at all, Mean Girls at Yale, and the debt she owes Harlem's Studio Museum.
Formally, they function as screens between the figure and the viewer or as arms that hold
the figure in the painting, but I also think they play a narrative role.
Price: The scale of
your figures in your paintings and on some of the painted objects is small.
By portraying
the figures in her paintings with cartoonish whimsy, she is trying to strip the male oppressors of their power by undermining the culture of machismo that pervades many societies.
The figures in her paintings are mostly black men and women, isolated against dark backgrounds.
Garabedian is humble but ambitious;
the figures in his paintings are monumental but gawky — relatable heroes and heroines.
The figures in the paintings maintain their glamour and determined gaze despite the chaos and encroaching force of the natural world that surrounds them.
The figures in the paintings are alone, which could signal introspection.
Edna Dagan, a musician, also interprets
the figure in paintings, mixed media works and bronze sculpture.
Williams often teaches the Portrait and
Figure in Painting and Drawing class at the Hyde Park Art Center.
Like the Greek gods and goddesses,
the figures in these paintings are at once larger than life and overwhelmingly human.
The figure in this painting is more androgynous than those that feature in two similar standing female nudes, Nude, 1961, and Figure Turning, 1692.
Andrew's clean style and meticulous attention to composition puts the viewer in the place of
a figure in the painting.
«Before, when I did have
figures in my paintings, they were sort of half - seen, or screened.
Ms. Kara's baby - blue and burgundy canvases with masklike figures are shown alongside her sculptures, which derive from marks and
figures in the paintings.
Bascove writes: «
The figures in these paintings are unique to the land of Native Americans, transmitting the force of its endurance.
Kantarovsky imbues
the figures in his paintings with an affect that evokes a legacy of symbolism and allegory.
Cedar works in figuration and abstraction:
Figures in her paintings are on abstract backgrounds, creating a subtle discord.
JS:
The figures in your paintings are situated in elaborate interiors.
«There are some wonderful dialogues happening between works,» May says, «such as the relationship between factuality and truthfulness in storytelling, the representation of
the figure in painting, systematic oppression, and creative approaches to conversations about feminism.»