The Artist's Studio 1943

Ellison Hoover made "The Artist's Studio" with graphite on paper; look at that cross-hatching, that fine network of tiny lines that creates such depth. It’s all about process, isn't it? What strikes me is the contrast between the smooth, almost idealized figure and the rich texture everywhere else. See the way the light falls on her back, and the way that smoothness is juxtaposed with the tapestry behind her? And consider that everything is drawn from reality, and at the same time constructed from the artist's mind, what is it all about? That wall hanging… it seems to contain a history of painting itself! Mythological figures cavort across a landscape. There is something of Picasso, or even Matisse in the way the image contains other images, the way the studio becomes a kind of hall of mirrors. Maybe Hoover wants us to consider what it means to be an artist and the endless cycle of influence and reinterpretation that defines art history.