Fort Greene 2018

Salman Toor made this painting, Fort Greene, with what looks like thin layers of oil paint, giving it a muted, dreamlike quality. I imagine him starting with a light wash, maybe staining the canvas, then slowly building up the scene, adding figures one by one, a bit like memory. Look at how the brushstrokes follow the forms, creating shadows and highlights, especially on the figure in the white top and green waistcoat, he's the focus. I wonder, was Toor thinking about the history of portraiture, and how painters have always tried to capture not just likeness, but also something of the person's inner life? There's a vulnerability in the gaze of the figures, almost as if they’re aware of being observed. I think, what's really interesting here is how Toor mixes different painting styles and traditions, taking inspiration from everywhere. It reminds us that painting is a conversation across time, artists building on each other's ideas, each brushstroke a response to what came before. And with this, he makes it his own.