Blessings - Golden Legend of St Stephen 2016

Joe Machine made this painting, Blessings - Golden Legend of St Stephen, on a surface nearly one meter high and just over one meter wide. You see how the paint is laid on in blocks of color, like in the bishop’s robe? It’s red and green, not blended, but placed next to each other. It’s all process. The texture is smooth, with no visible brushstrokes, and yet the figures have a solidity to them. This is achieved by using the paint in thin washes, layering the colors to build up depth and form. The robes of the figures are particularly interesting. The artist has used a limited palette of blues, greens, and purples, but each color is subtly different, creating a sense of movement and rhythm across the canvas. Look at the woman in the centre holding the baby, the way the folds in the cloth fall. Machine seems like he’s got some Piero della Francesca in him, or even Giotto. It’s a flat rendering, but the shapes are pleasing. This painting embraces ambiguity, and welcomes multiple interpretations.