The Artist and His Mother 1936

Arshile Gorky painted this portrait, “The Artist and His Mother”, with oils, and it’s like he’s building these two figures with color. The forms are monumental, but it's not about realism. Take a look at the ochre yellows next to the whites and browns. See how the paint is scrubbed in, but it still feels flat, like a memory? I’m especially drawn to the odd way Gorky renders his mother’s hands, little white puffs. There's something about the way they're painted – so solid and yet so unspecific – that captures how time and distance can flatten details, leaving behind only essential shapes. The whole painting feels like that; solid, durable, but fading from view. It's reminiscent of other painters who embraced process like Guston, whose late works often used flattened forms to explore personal themes, even when they were abstract. It's this embrace of ambiguity that makes Gorky's work so moving.