Boss Apple Peeler 2021

Rose Freymuth-Frazier made Boss Apple Peeler, well, I don't know when but look at the juicy layers of this oil painting! There is a tonal approach to colour - browns and reds build up a moody palette but the technique is loose, and the light seems to glow from within. Up close, you can see how Freymuth-Frazier’s brushwork gives the figure both solidity and a kind of vulnerability. The peeled apple skin in the figure’s hands is rendered with care. It is translucent and delicate but the artist avoids being overly representational, choosing to use the oil paint in a way that conveys the idea of skin, rather than simply copying its appearance. The "Boss" necklace is particularly interesting - it has a flat, graphic quality, which contrasts with the more fluid and painterly rendering of the figure's flesh and clothes. This picture reminds me of John Currin - particularly in the way it takes an old master’s technique and uses it to create something strange and new. Ultimately, the painting holds onto its secrets, and leaves space for viewers to bring their own interpretations.