Face 2012

Eduardo Berliner made this watercolor, Face, with washes of color that seem to seep into the paper. I love seeing the traces of how a thing was made. Look at the hands in this piece; they are ambiguously clasped over the face of the subject, almost shielding it. The hands feel delicate, barely-there, and the sleeves are subtly blushed with watercolor, hinting at a fragility. Berliner's palette here is beautifully restrained, limited to earthy greens and muted blues, reinforcing a kind of solemn quietude. The way the colors bleed and blend suggests a process of layering and building up images intuitively. Berliner reminds me of Francisco Goya, whose work also engages with psychological and emotional complexities through expressive figuration, embracing ambiguity and multiple interpretations. Ultimately it leaves the viewer to sit with it.