Icarus No.2 2018

Owen Gent's 'Icarus No.2' is made using muted colours, a restricted palette that really pushes the narrative. Look at how the surface is built with thin layers, like watercolour almost, except it feels grounded and solid. The figure is all curled in on themselves, set against a heavy looking white impasto bed covering. The dark block of the figure is contrasted with the pinks and greens of the flesh, a kind of trapped figure. The area around the shoulders is particularly resonant. The black paint is thin and washy, giving the sense of the figure almost dissolving or falling apart. The hard edges are so unforgiving but the paintwork suggests something more fluid. There's a lot of tension, a lot of raw emotion. It puts me in mind of Paula Rego or Peter Doig, a similar approach to dreamlike symbolism. It’s definitely a piece to let you linger and make your own meaning.