Udon 2016

This painting, Udon, was made by James Jean. Imagine Jean in his studio, coaxing these figures into being with layers of thin, translucent paint, building up a world both familiar and totally strange. I wonder what Jean was thinking as he painted this scene? The central figure is poised, almost serene, as she cuts a stream of...noodles? Hair? It spills into a fleshy, bowl-like form. The colors are so soft – pinks and blues that swirl together like a dream. It reminds me of other painters like Lisa Yuskavage, whose portraits also explore the edges of beauty and the grotesque. Look at the way the lines curve and flow. It's like he's not just painting what he sees, but also the feeling of the thing, the energy of it. It's like he's in conversation with the history of painting, taking cues and pushing them somewhere new. It’s this kind of exchange, where artists speak to each other across time, that keeps painting alive and kicking.