Last Year in Capri (exotic title) 1962

Martial Raysse made this painting called ‘Last Year in Capri’ using bright colors like red and green. It’s like he's having a conversation with Pop Art, but in his own language. Looking closely, you can see the brushstrokes, almost like he’s inviting us to witness the act of painting itself. The colors feel almost electric! Take the flower in her hair. It has this scribbled outline, like he’s thinking out loud with his brush. The paint is put on kind of thickly, especially in her features. It’s like the surface itself is part of the message. Raysse is playing with something deeper. His approach to portraiture is rooted in ideas around advertising, media, and their impact on our visual culture and sense of self. I think there is a kinship with artists like Sigmar Polke, with this embrace of irony and a playful dismantling of serious art conventions. Art isn't about answers, right? It’s about the questions we ask along the way.