Mulher e Roupa 1986

Julio Resende made this painting, Mulher e Roupa, with what looks like oil paint, and a whole lot of feeling. The way he’s laid down these marks, it feels like he's not just painting what he sees, but how it feels to see it. Look at how the figure emerges from the ground through broad brushstrokes, a dance of purples, browns, and whites. The paint is thick in places, thin in others, almost like he's sculpting with color. Notice the fabric of the dress, how it’s suggested with these energetic strokes of gold and brown. Each mark seems to capture movement. It makes me think of Francis Bacon, the way he twisted and turned the figure with paint. There's so much ambiguity here. It's more about the process, the act of seeing and feeling, than about neatly defining what’s in front of you. And isn't that what art’s all about anyway?