An island 1939

Ivan Generalic made "An Island," and its naive style and tight rendering of form reminds us that artmaking is a patient process. The way he builds up these houses and landscape, everything feels solid, almost touchable. Check out how the surface has this matte, almost chalky feel. It’s like he’s building up layers of color, but keeping it all very flat. The details, like the washing line, are so carefully observed, but also kinda weird, and simplified. Then there are these haystacks and peculiar white figures propped up on sticks that look like ghosts or scarecrows, and lend the whole scene a slightly unsettling vibe. Look at that moody sky, so different in texture and tone to the rest of the piece. Generalic’s work always makes me think of Henri Rousseau; that same commitment to weird, slightly off-kilter scenes, rendered with such care and attention. For both artists, embracing ambiguity is key.