Shower Boy 2018

Salman Toor made this painting, Shower Boy, with visible brushstrokes and a limited color palette. The whole thing feels like a process, where the layers of paint reveal the making. I notice the texture first, the way the paint is laid on, not trying to hide anything. It’s like Toor is letting us in on a secret, showing us how the image comes together, bit by bit. The colors are muted, almost like a memory, and that adds to the intimacy of the scene. Look at the way the white paint is daubed onto the hair and body like suds, kind of roughly, and see how that one passage brings the whole image together. Toor reminds me a little of Pierre Bonnard, the way he captures everyday moments with such tenderness. But Toor has his own voice, his own way of seeing the world. In the end, it's not about finding a single meaning, but about embracing all the possibilities that art opens up.