La Fiancée de Kiriwina 1949

Wifredo Lam made "La Fiancée de Kiriwina," with oil on canvas, and straight away I see how the colour is washed in, stained almost, to make the surface. It's as though we're seeing a ghost of a figure emerge, or as though this figure is already fading from view, which makes me think about how paintings themselves change over time. Look at the way Lam allows areas of the canvas to remain bare, so that the figure seems less 'solid' somehow. The paint handling is really fascinating here too, right? It's not really thin or thick, but the layers of washes let him build up areas of density in colour and tone. He's got a fantastic graphic sensibility as well, and the way the figures are outlined reminds me of Picasso, but then the muted palette reminds me of de Chirico. Ultimately, this work shows us that art-making is an ongoing conversation. It's all one big remix!