November 

Mark Beck’s “November” is an oil painting, a medium with a long and esteemed history in Western art. What makes this work resonate, though, is the tension between that tradition, and the very contemporary subject – a striking, stylish young woman. The oil paint allows for a remarkable level of detail, particularly in rendering the play of light on her skin and clothing. The artist’s labor is evident in the careful blending of tones, and the subtle gradations of color that create depth and form. Yet, the painting also has a kind of flattened, almost photographic quality. This speaks to our own image-saturated culture, where portraiture has been democratized through digital media. By bringing together the hand-made and the mass-produced, Beck invites us to consider how we construct identity in the 21st century. He reminds us that all images are carefully made, whether by hand or by machine, and that they carry within them the traces of human intention and effort.