Immigration Men 2019

Salman Toor’s painting, Immigration Men, pulls you in with its muted colors and melancholic mood. Imagine the act of painting here—the artist's hand moving with intention, building up layers of thin washes of color. The surface has a slightly scrubbed quality. I wonder what Toor was thinking as he brushed the paint, almost like watercolour, across the canvas? There's a nervous energy here. Look at the way the figures stand—their downcast eyes and slumped shoulders tell a story. The objects on the table feel heavy with symbolism: a phone, a belt, and a single sneaker. It’s like Toor is in conversation with other painters, maybe someone like Alice Neel, who had a knack for capturing vulnerability in her portraits. Ultimately, painting is all about exchange—across time, across artists. We’re all riffing off each other, trying to make sense of the world, one brushstroke at a time. Each gesture, each color choice, can hold so much feeling.