Moonchild 2021

This ‘Moonchild’ by James Jean shimmers with thin veils of violet and purple. The painting seems to have come into being through many layers of intuition. Look at the wings on that child! I love the gesture. I bet Jean built up these forms stroke by stroke. I imagine him building up the surface, letting the paint drip to see where it might go. I bet he let the painting surprise him. And the flatness! There’s a sort of graphic feel to it, like a poster. That flatness gives the painting a real intensity and a hallucinatory pop vibe, a reminder of other painters like Elizabeth Peyton or even Ellsworth Kelly. Artists are always talking to each other, across time. For me, painting is a conversation with the unknown. We put something down, then we respond. We let the painting lead us forward, embracing doubt and uncertainty.