Antonio Buero Vallejo 2015

Alejandro Cabeza painted this portrait of Antonio Buero Vallejo, and it feels like it’s still in process, like it’s becoming itself right before our eyes. The brushstrokes are loose but deliberate, building up the form with layers of warm browns and muted yellows. There is an evocative quality to the way the artist captures the subject's gaze. I wonder what Cabeza was thinking about when he was making this? There's an interesting tension between the figure and the ground, which has a dark, undefined quality. Look at how the white of the eyes catch the light, giving the sitter a vivid presence. It’s like he’s in conversation with the viewer, or maybe Cabeza himself. It reminds me that artists are always in conversation, borrowing and riffing off of one another. This is what I feel like when I’m in the studio: the endless possibilities, the give and take, the sheer joy of making something out of nothing.