Ossessione 2006

Roberto Ferri's "Ossessione" is a painting made with oil on canvas, though I don't have an exact date for it. There is something about the sheen on the skin in this painting that gets me. Notice how the body arches away from that zodiac wheel—it's almost as if the flesh is resisting some unseen force. The paint application is so smooth, and it gives the skin a cool, almost marble-like feel. The artist plays with light and shadow here so well. I keep coming back to that drape of green fabric and that small white ball hovering nearby. Is it a detail from the wheel, or a moon? I love the way Ferri lets these little mysteries linger. I can't help thinking about Caravaggio when I look at this painting, especially the way he used light to create drama, but Ferri brings his own contemporary twist to it. With a piece like this, the questions it raises are more interesting than any answers it might offer.