Balancing the Budget 1988

Mark Kostabi made this painting, Balancing the Budget, with acrylic on canvas. At first, it seems to me like it’s about some strange, maybe even strained, relationships between bodies, but also between the body and what it holds, what it contains. I’m thinking about the moment he committed the image to the canvas, when the idea solidified through the application of paint. What was he thinking about at that moment? The airbrushed legs and feet, almost mannequin-like, are so smooth and uncanny, while the symbolic floating objects inside the bodies are rendered with sharp, fine lines. This linear rendering creates a tension, a kind of playful unease. The black background really makes it pop. I can imagine de Chirico liked this kind of stuff. Ultimately, artists are always in conversation with each other, building upon ideas and pushing boundaries. In painting, as in life, ambiguity and uncertainty are embraced, leaving space for endless interpretations.