Three Graces 2014

Carmen Delaco created "Three Graces" with layers of hazy color that seem to breathe life into the canvas. She builds the painting with semi-transparent strokes, allowing earlier marks to peek through, it's like a record of the painting's evolution. Up close, the surface reveals a tactile quality, a dance between thick impasto and thinly glazed areas. The brushwork around the figures pulses with energy, each stroke alive with potential. I'm particularly drawn to the underpainting where these shadowy legs emerge. See how they push through the surface? Delaco reminds me a little of Marlene Dumas. Both play with the emotional resonance of figuration, even when the figures are absent or obscured. Her work invites us to embrace ambiguity and to find beauty in the unresolved.