Madre del Nene 1990

Curator: Right now we’re looking at Bo Bartlett’s, “Madre del Nene,” from 1990. He’s working with acrylic on canvas here. Editor: Woah, it’s immediately haunting, isn’t it? Like a Renaissance deposition scene crash-landed into an industrial wasteland. And a dark palette dominated by dusky purples and fiery reds, definitely gives me chills. Curator: Indeed. And you see how Bartlett is grappling with contemporary issues through the lens of classical figurative painting. The context, specifically the socio-economic setting of the landscape in contrast with the vulnerable figures. Note the composition-- how that vertical beam both divides and anchors the chaos around it. Editor: It's interesting you mention the vertical beam. For me, it feels like the fulcrum in this weird, theatrical balancing act. It sets off the very charged right half of the canvas, where everything feels accusatory and tense. Plus, that industrial backdrop? Ugh. It looks like it's choking the very life out of the composition. There's such an unsettling mix of vulnerability and violence in the gesture of the man pointing in this modern landscape, don’t you agree? Curator: Definitely. One must think about the artist's own class and background as a man who paints in the realist mode amidst abstract expressionism, challenging existing art historical precedents. Also consider how Bartlett uses traditional media such as paint to engage a viewer so personally. What sort of economic factors might drive these interests? Editor: Absolutely. And personally, I’m riveted by the expressions he’s captured. The exhausted compassion of the woman holding the nude figure, the kid just staring straight at you, seemingly resigned. Bartlett creates a sense of intimacy in such a massive and brutal setting. Curator: Agreed. His use of scale emphasizes these dichotomies inherent to realism within our daily existence, between individuals, and between different societal factions. There is realness and there is also production—who gets represented and how is what Bartlett pushes us to consider as his viewers. Editor: Looking at it this way, “Madre del Nene” ceases to be just another figurative painting; instead, it's this powerful visual debate. Curator: Precisely. This gives us much to reflect upon in relation to contemporary art practice.