Girl at the Piano (Overture To Tannhauser) 2013

Alexander Roitburd made this painting, Girl at the Piano (Overture To Tannhauser), with oil paint, and the layered application really makes the image feel dense and dreamlike. The surface is built up with these visible, gestural strokes. Look at the way the paint is applied to the woman's skin, it is a kind of feverish, pink, energetic flesh. The paint is both covering and revealing. I like how the paint handling and muted colour scheme creates an unsettling mood. And then there are these wasps all over the place! I think the wasp that's landed right on the woman's thigh is really interesting. The image is both alluring and slightly repulsive. This painting reminds me of some of the Symbolist painters, like Fernand Khnopff, who were all about atmosphere and the psychological depth of the image. Ultimately, the painting is about creating a world that is both recognizable and deeply strange.