Untitled Self Portrait 2019

Monica Ikegwu made this untitled self-portrait using oil paint to show herself in profile against an arabesque background. I'm looking at the light on her skin, the way Ikegwu has built up the color, and I'm thinking she was really feeling herself. This painting seems to say, 'I'm gonna take my time and do this right.' There's a focus on the way the light hits her face, the sheen on her forehead, the shape of her brow, and the way the paint sort of vibrates and comes alive. You know? The wall behind her almost disappears into pure pattern; it is a kind of flat echo. And that reminds me of other painters thinking about foreground and background, like, what do we emphasize and what do we let fade away? It is like a conversation she's having with the history of painting.