Anna 1989

Avigdor Arikha painted "Anna" with oil paint to make a kind of record of a human body in a particular place. The brown-red of the couch seems to absorb the light, and the pale flesh seems soft in contrast. Look at how Arikha applies the paint. The texture is thick, and you can see the direction of his brushstrokes on the couch and in the figure's contours. It's not about hiding the process, but about making it visible, like a conversation between the artist and the canvas. The green fabric on the leg has the quality of moss or algae, life rendered with paint. Arikha was a master of capturing fleeting moments, and his work reminds me of Lucian Freud’s unflinching gaze. Both artists invite us to see the beauty in the everyday, the extraordinary in the ordinary. With it's balance of colour and texture, this painting is an ongoing exchange of ideas, inviting new interpretations each time we look at it.