Scarsdale 1986

Eric Fischl probably painted this in his studio, whenever that was, using oils. Look at how these three panels come together. They weren’t conceived as one image, were they? Fischl has constructed the scene, collaging together different characters in time and space. I like the cigarette hanging from her lips, that’s so good. She’s this bride in a big blue-white dress; there’s a golden cat and a dachshund in the wings. Maybe it was someone he knew? All these details point to an awkward intimacy. There’s something about the way it’s painted that really makes me wonder about the artist. I bet he was thinking about Balthus or Philip Guston when he made this, picturing them, or maybe even arguing with them in his head. Painting is like that. It's not only about showing but thinking through something with your hands. Every painter has a painting ancestor, and it's nice to think about the work they did before.