Lazarus 1965

Jacqueline Hick made this painting, Lazarus, with oil paint, and you can feel the artist’s hand moving through the making of this work. It’s like she’s carving away at it. See how the figures emerge from a background of muted tones and strong verticals. There is a visceral feel to the application of the paint, a kind of urgency. The figures seem to be struggling to be released from the ground, like they are being reborn. I think of Goya sometimes, looking at a painting like this. Hick’s figures have a similar kind of raw humanity. There's a painterly dance between form and formlessness. Hick is letting the paint do its thing, allowing the image to emerge from the medium itself. This is what painting is all about for me. It's about the process, the struggle, and the final, imperfect resolution. It is the openness and ambiguity that make a work like this resonate.