Shot dead 1971

Ozdemir Atlan made this painting, Shot Dead, with paint that seems to have been applied with a kind of forceful energy. It’s like the paint itself is agitated. Looking at the surface, the paint is both thin and thick, transparent in washes and opaque in concentrated areas. It reminds me a bit of Francis Bacon, in that there’s this way of smearing and pushing the paint around to create a sense of unease. See the lower figure, how the colors seem to swirl and congeal into a single mass? You can almost feel the weight and gravity of the body. The contrast with the upper figure, which has a lighter, almost airy quality to it, is stark. It has these stripes across the torso that almost makes it look like a strange musical instrument. Atlan’s work, like a lot of great painting, is about embracing ambiguity. It invites multiple readings, multiple emotions. It's a space for us to project our own interpretations and experiences.