Once Over 2019

Monica Ikegwu's "Once Over" captures a powerful figure in oil, a young woman with a gaze that holds centuries of stories. Her hand raised to her hair echoes gestures found in ancient portraiture, a claim of presence. The leather jacket, a modern armor, recalls the draped fabrics of classical sculptures, suggesting a timeless strength. Consider the green: vibrant and alive, but also, historically, the color of envy and the spectral. The background recalls the 'drapery studies' of Renaissance artists, who sought to understand how cloth can express movement and emotion. These symbols are not linear, but cyclical. The artist, consciously or unconsciously, taps into a visual vocabulary that resonates deeply with our collective memory. This portrait is a dialogue between past and present. The tension, the confidence, all converge to create an image that imprints itself upon our psyche.