No. 374, Mars - Avril 2006

Jean-Luc Mylayne made this large photograph, No. 374, Mars - Avril, in an unknown location. What strikes me first is the muted palette. It’s like he’s mixed a bit of earth into every color, giving the whole scene a kind of humble, grounded quality. Look at the way the light falls – it’s not dramatic, but soft and diffused, almost like a memory. Mylayne has waited and waited for the perfect light, a way of seeing that gently coaxes the eye. There’s a stillness in the image that invites you to slow down. My eye is drawn to the two birds in the foreground. The dark one is like a concentrated dot of ink, a sharp contrast to the sandy ground. The other is so camouflaged. They remind me of a Richard Tuttle sculpture, quiet and unassuming. Mylayne shares a sensibility with painters like Gerhard Richter, in his attention to light, color, and the act of seeing. Just as he spent months observing, his art is an invitation to really look, to feel the quiet pulse of the world around us.