Delegate 2009

Alexander Roitburd made this painting, titled Delegate, with oil paint, and there's a real sense of process here, like he's figuring it out as he goes. The painting's surface is really worked, with thick, opaque strokes of red and brown. You can almost feel the impasto under your fingers, it's really tactile. Then there are these weird objects: a huge pair of scissors, a wasp the size of a dog, a vase on her head. The scissor blades point upwards, as if trying to cut something out. There is a dynamic tension created through the interplay of scale and perspective. There’s something about the way the artist handles the paint that reminds me of early Philip Guston, that same kind of searching, awkward, and heartfelt quality. Like Guston, Roitburd’s work embraces ambiguity, inviting multiple interpretations rather than fixed meanings.