Lost In Thought 2017

Rose Freymuth-Frazier made this painting, Lost In Thought, and it feels like the kind of thing you get when you mix old-school portraiture with a bit of dream logic. The paint here is smooth, almost glazed, which gives it this surreal, kind of luminous quality. Look how the face is rendered with such care, but then there are these floating bubbles all around. What’s up with that? And the bubble encircling his head? It’s like the artist is saying something about being trapped in your own little world, or maybe just how weird and fragile we all are. I love the way Freymuth-Frazier lets you see the hand at work, but also keeps a certain distance, like she doesn't want you to get too comfortable. It reminds me a bit of Magritte, that sense of everyday reality turned just slightly on its head, making you question everything you thought you knew. It’s not about answers, but about opening up a space for wonder and, yeah, maybe a little bit of confusion.