Hills

9" x 12", oil on panel

Painter George Tooker died on March 27th this year at the age of ninety. Tooker is famous for his work which expresses modern anxiety and the human condition. He said he never wanted to be part of the New York art scene or be a household name like Jackson Pollock. [See the NPR story reporting his death and including five images of his paintings.] He was grateful that people bought his work so that he could live a quiet life with his dogs. His work was considered out of fashion, along with most figurative art, at the time when Abstract Expressionism ruled. Now his name is established.

I appreciate Tooker's attitude and feel the same. Being able to make the work is most important. Sales and notoriety are only important to me in that they lead to people appreciating and taking care of the work. Becoming established in that way also makes the work visible, placing it in relation to other art, thus reciprocally enriching the meaning and understanding.

I like the quiet life (and dogs). Hills has a meditative quality. The sense of peace invites the viewer in but is also slightly distant. The black bands try to hold onto it while serving as reminders that the scene can't be touched. There is a polarity of longing and contentment, also part of the human condition, a dichotomy perhaps Tooker would appreciate.