Nude Series VIII 1917

Georgia O'Keeffe made this watercolor painting, “Nude Series VIII,” sometime during her long career, using, as always, a remarkable economy of means. The body is brushed in blue, its edges bleeding softly into the white of the paper. The figure is posed in a twist, and O’Keeffe captures this with the bare minimum of strokes, using the translucence of the medium to suggest light and shadow. Notice that dab of red on the back and neck. What does it mean? Is it an injury? The flush of exertion? Maybe it is just an accent, a way to activate that particular zone of the composition, drawing our eyes to the tension between the shoulder and the curve of the back. O’Keeffe's paintings always leave space for the viewer to enter, to bring their own associations and experiences to the work. It’s a conversation, and she starts it with a gesture. Like Helen Frankenthaler, the work is not overworked, and the white of the canvas glows.