Flogerta Driza 2021

Gazmend Freitag made this portrait of Flogerta Driza with watercolor and pencil, and it looks like he was really thinking through each mark, building up the image in layers. I can imagine him stepping back, squinting, turning the paper, adding a stroke here, erasing there. The underpainting seems to glow peach, a warm flesh tone, but then the pencil lines come in, adding definition to the eyes and hair, creating depth and shadow. See how those white patches around the face almost obscure her features, but then the bright red of her lips pulls you right back in? It’s like Freitag is both revealing and concealing Flogerta at the same time. The physicality of the medium - the way the watercolor bleeds and the pencil scratches - it's all part of the emotional language of the piece. It reminds me of work by Alice Neel, where the artist’s hand is so present, and the vulnerability of the subject shines through. Ultimately, this portrait feels like an intimate conversation, a shared moment between artist and sitter captured on paper.