Nude 1969

Tom Wesselmann made this painting, Nude, using flat planes of bright color and bold outlines to create a scene that’s both familiar and a bit unsettling. It’s like he’s inviting us into a hyper-real world where everything is just a little too perfect. I wonder what Wesselmann was thinking when he chose this flattened style. Was he trying to capture the essence of modern life, stripping away the details to get to the core? The flesh tones are so smooth and even, almost like plastic, contrasting with the playful patterns of the bedsheets and the decorative roses in the background. Look at that tiny, perfectly round nipple. It's like a little exclamation point that draws your eye. And the way he’s reduced the mouth to a simple, dark shape—it's a fascinating blend of sensuality and abstraction. We’re always in dialogue with the painters who came before, using their ideas as a springboard for our own experiments. Painting is an ongoing conversation across generations.