Predator 2009

Nelson Shanks made this painting, Predator, using oil paint to conjure up a kind of luxurious domestic scene, but with a strange twist. He’s using pretty traditional techniques but somehow the end result feels both contemporary and a bit unsettling, right? Check out the texture in the painting, especially in the fur details. There's something so physical about the way he builds up the layers of paint; you can almost feel the roughness of the fur and the softness of the cushions. He also has these moments of intense detail, like in the model’s face, which make the looser, more expressive areas, like the brushwork on the carpet, feel even more lively by contrast. It makes you wonder what he wants you to really *look* at. There’s an interesting push and pull going on in this piece between representation and abstraction, which you also see in Lucian Freud’s work. It’s like he’s inviting us to question what we see and how we see it. So is it a domestic scene, or a theatrical stage set? Is it about power, vulnerability, or something else entirely? It’s up to you to decide.