Invocation 1982

Audrey Flack made this painting, Invocation, and straight away, I’m struck by how the still life objects – the skull, the candle, the flowers – are rendered in meticulous detail, but surrounded by looser, more symbolic elements. For me, this speaks to the artist's understanding of painting as both representation and process. Looking closely, the textures are so rich. You can almost feel the smoothness of the skull against the delicate petals of the roses. The paint seems applied in layers, especially in the background, where the colours blend, creating this hazy, dreamlike effect. That tube of paint, squeezed out with such abandon, feels like a direct nod to the act of creation itself, a celebration of artmaking. I love how the red echoes the red in the background. This piece reminds me of the work of artists like Nancy Spero, who mixed figuration with symbolic imagery. Like Spero, Flack isn’t afraid to embrace complexity and ambiguity, inviting us to bring our own interpretations to the table. It’s a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, a dance between the artist and the viewer.