Stimulus 2009

Rose Freymuth-Frazier painted "Stimulus," and right away, I’m seeing a story unfold. There’s this figure bathed in a spotlight, holding a syringe, and I'm thinking about what it must have been like to build that kind of light with paint. Look at the way the oil gives a luminosity to the skin. There's such amazing detail, yet it feels like it was made using touch and feel. The artist has really nailed this hyperreal style, but what elevates the painting is the emotional charge it radiates. It reminds me of Sylvia Sleigh’s portraits in the way it captures the model's vulnerability. It gets me thinking about how paintings communicate beyond the surface, with multiple layers of meaning. It makes me want to pick up a brush and just go for it, to keep the conversation going.