Creatures 1976

Jules Perahim painted these biomorphic "Creatures" in an unknown year using oil on canvas. The canvas is covered in curious shapes, all rendered with smooth, careful gradients that give the composition a surreal, dreamy quality. I'm struck by the contrast between the matte flatness of the blue background and the volumetric forms that populate the scene. I wonder what Perahim was thinking, how he felt, as he carefully blended the colors, building up these strange creatures. I find myself looking at the textures within the central figure, this black form with its own little world contained inside, and wondering if painting these shapes was like a form of world-building for Perahim. A lot of artists make their own worlds, I feel like I do too, and it's nice to see them having fun with that.