Reflections 1970

Ken Danby made "Reflections" with paint, but the date is unknown, and it's more than just a picture; it's an exercise in really, really close looking. Danby uses these quiet browns and greys, but he has such a clear interest in the way surfaces reflect light, with these ripples breaking up the surface of the water and distorting the boys reflection, that your eye is constantly moving around the piece. The boy's face is half in shadow and he's looking down, he is lost in his own world. You get the sense of Danby slowing down to carefully observe and record all of this with painstaking precision. This level of hyperrealism reminds me of Gerhard Richter's paintings from photos - both of them are saying something about the role of mediation and memory in understanding the world around us. Both of them invite us to slow down and look closer.