Mirror 1941

Archie Thompson’s ‘Mirror’ renders a framed looking glass, complete with a ship scene at the top, in what appears to be watercolor. Imagine Thompson teasing out these delicate details with his brush. The cracks in the mirror make me think about the passage of time, the way things shift, change, and age. What was Thompson thinking when he rendered the cracks, those spidering lines across the surface? It's not a pristine, perfect surface, but something lived-in, layered with history. The nautical scene at the top is so precise. Thompson's attention to detail reminds me of other painters who obsessively render the world around them, like maybe some of the Magic Realists. There's something about this that feels very personal. We painters are always in conversation, borrowing, stealing, riffing off of each other. Painting is about embracing uncertainty, letting things emerge, and allowing for multiple interpretations. It's less about answers, and more about opening up new ways of seeing and thinking.