SEARCHING FOR THE VICTIMS. SIGHT 2009

Alexander Roitburd made this painting, "Searching for the Victims. Sight," without providing a date, and that feels right somehow. The earthy palette and visible brushstrokes tell me that Roitburd was interested in the act of painting itself. The figures are rendered with such tactile density, it's like he's building them out of clay or mud. Look at how the paint seems to crust and gather around the edges of the mirror, a detail that speaks to the physical nature of the medium, and the art making process. The scene feels loaded with tension, like a stage set for some unspoken drama. All the figures have their hands covering their eyes. But in the mirror there is a figure gazing directly outwards. This makes me think about Lucian Freud. I wonder whether he saw the act of looking as a kind of exposure, a stripping bare? Whatever the answer, Roitburd leaves us with a compelling image, one that asks us to look, reflect, and question what we see.