Miss Europe 2016

Kent Monkman made this painting, Miss Europe, probably fairly recently, and I’m guessing with acrylics, though it has the look of an oil painting. The way he's layered and blended the colors gives a smooth, almost surreal quality to the scene. Looking closely, you can see how the physicality of the paint creates texture, almost like a stage set, and that smoothness allows the colours to really sing. It’s as if the paint itself is performing, each brushstroke a gesture in a grand theatrical production. Take the group around the car for example: Monkman’s use of color and form is a visual riot! The wrecked car, the figures brandishing weapons, and the classical figures are all rendered with a kind of frenetic energy. It reminds me of the work of early history painters, like Delacroix, who embraced ambiguity and multiple interpretations. What is history, after all, but an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time?