Magic; The Gathering ‘Golgari Grave Troll’ 2005

This ‘Golgari Grave Troll’ for Magic: The Gathering was made by Greg Hildebrandt, and it’s all about the surface. The texture of the troll’s skin, the way the paint looks slapped on, adds to that sense of something both menacing and kind of slapstick. Looking closer, I love how the paint seems almost crusty in places, like it's been built up layer after layer. It's not subtle or slick, but really upfront about being paint. That heaviness gives the troll a strange weight, like it might actually exist, but also maybe fall apart. You know, the way Hildebrandt handles paint reminds me a bit of how Leon Golub used to attack his canvases, roughing them up and staining them. Both artists seem interested in revealing the process of their work, laying bare the materiality of the medium, and finding new ways of seeing the world. I guess what I'm trying to say is, there's no one way to look at this.