Dimensions: support: 410 x 330 mm frame: 579 x 496 x 76 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Rodrigo Moynihan | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This is Rodrigo Moynihan’s painting, "Figure in Studio," part of the Tate collection. It captures a moment of quiet introspection. Editor: Yes, a very somber mood. Look at the muted colors, the almost spectral figure emerging from the shadows. It's like a memory surfacing. Curator: The studio setting itself is symbolic. Moynihan has placed the figure next to what looks like a big empty canvas; he is contemplating the void, the possibilities, and limitations of his own art. Editor: Absolutely. But notice, too, how the figure is holding his brushes. They could be weapons, or tools for creation. The ambiguity is very powerful. Curator: And I think that's precisely what Moynihan was exploring here. The artist's eternal struggle with expression. The figure seems to be looking for inspiration, or perhaps confronting his own mortality. Editor: It certainly invites reflection, and I get the feeling that Moynihan's painting serves as a mirror, reflecting our own internal landscapes. Curator: A quiet masterpiece then, laden with symbolism. Editor: Indeed. It lingers.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/moynihan-figure-in-studio-t03158
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Here the artist is, perhaps, shown as a cool observer, though he appears almost overwhelmed by the large canvas he seems to be working on. This looks like a self–portrait but a trick is played on us: the canvas we are looking at is not the round one the artist is painting in the picture. Moynihan was one of a group of artists who pursued the possibility of an objective painting, avoiding the idea of art as an expression of the artist’s personality or emotions. At different times he explored both abstraction and an almost analytical figurative style to this end. Gallery label, September 2004
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