In the Land of the Giants (Spirals and Stars) 2012

Jo Baer made this big canvas, In the Land of the Giants (Spirals and Stars), with oil and acrylic. The palette is restrained, almost bleached out, and she's using some graphic shapes, the stars and the central black circle. It feels symbolic, but of what? Baer is playing with figuration and abstraction here, and it’s interesting how she sets up these contrasting elements, like the classical sculpture at the top left, that big, looming black bird and the small figure at the bottom. The surface is quite flat and dry; she thins the paint right down, making it really smooth. Look at how these pale greys interact - the light seems almost to radiate from that central swirl. For me, this piece recalls the work of someone like Dorothea Tanning, where there’s a similar feeling of surrealism and an interest in dreamlike imagery. Art isn’t about fixed meanings, it’s about opening up possibilities.