The Promised Land 2015

Curator: What an enigmatic piece. This is Bo Bartlett’s 2015 painting, "The Promised Land," rendered in oil. A striking composition, isn't it? Editor: It certainly grabs you. The subdued palette and turbulent sea evoke a sense of foreboding. It's beautiful, yet something feels amiss, almost precarious, doesn't it? I want to touch that painted surface to get some relief. Curator: I agree. Bartlett’s work often invites that sense of unease. His use of realism, combined with a near-surreal quality, taps into a deeper, perhaps unsettling, reflection on the American dream. Consider the title, for instance, weighed against the imagery. What promises, and for whom? Editor: Absolutely. The boat, clearly handmade and seemingly quite small given the wave size, is packed with symbolism relating to construction and labor. I can't help but wonder about the labor required to navigate that sea, given the visible constraints of their material circumstances. Look how new the boat looks! Curator: That's astute. These are not romanticized images. We have to consider the representation of labor alongside the traditional associations of maritime voyages—exploration, hope, also displacement, and migration. It’s significant, too, to read the figures themselves. Who are they? Where are they going? The female figures, one facing away, one poised with the tow rope as if readying a journey? Their gender plays a role here. Editor: And the way the light falls on the water, that play of shadow and reflection! The artist is forcing us to confront the sheer, physical process of painting—layer upon layer, applied with a clear material sensitivity, in an almost heroic scale of water and sky. What about how new the boat and the costumes look, are these consumer items, the promises of wealth, things rather than experiences? Curator: Precisely, the work opens itself to different readings: on gendered labour, ecological anxiety, and political aspirations. And if these figures are to build this new society, will they be building on past wrongs? What of indigenous populations dispossessed in the pursuit of any so called "promised land?" Editor: Indeed, by drawing on those themes through his unique vision of landscape, material objects and figures, the artist gives us not just an image but an artifact reflecting the promise of our moment in history. Curator: Agreed. A compelling work offering many avenues for discussion.