Sentiers 1977

Jean-Paul Jerome made 'Sentiers', probably in 1997, using oil on canvas. Look at the way he builds the image from lots of different shapes in browns and greys. It's a process of layering, and you can see how each little piece fits together to create a bigger picture. The texture is really important here: the canvas gives the whole thing a kind of earthy feel. The paint is thin, almost transparent in places, which lets that texture show through. I love the white circle – it feels like a full moon, and the lines inside it give it a cool 3D effect. But then the shape next to it looks like a leaf, and suddenly you’re not sure what you’re seeing. Jerome’s work reminds me a bit of some of the early cubists, like Braque, where everything is broken down into geometric shapes, but here there’s a softness, a kind of gentle ambiguity. Is it a landscape, a portrait, or something in between? It's up to you to decide.