Homecoming 2018

Zoe Hawk’s painting "Homecoming" feels like a party with pastel dreams and maybe a touch of the uncanny. The girls stand in a row, but the one bending down, gazing into her reflection, she’s got me thinking about Narcissus. I wonder if Zoe thought about that myth when she was making this work; the gowns remind me of John Singer Sargent, but with a touch of Edward Gorey. I love how the brushstrokes have this gentle quality, nothing is too sharp, and the colors are like a faded memory. You can sense Zoe’s hand moving deliberately, creating these soft, dreamlike textures. There’s something so evocative about the way she captures the light on those dresses. It almost feels like you can hear the rustle of the fabric. Painters are always in conversation, borrowing, stealing, and transforming ideas across time. And in the end, it’s about making something that’s both deeply personal and universal.