Girl with Hen 1956

Joy Hester made this painting, Girl with Hen, with gouache. You see the brushstrokes are pretty direct and confident; art-making as an immediate process. The texture is mostly smooth, but you can see where the gouache is slightly built up, like around the girl’s eye and the hen’s feathers. These layers give the image a tangible quality, a sense of depth. The darks and lights create a dramatic feel, almost theatrical, casting the figures into sharp relief against the dark background. Look how the girl's gaze goes beyond us. It creates an interesting connection. Reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker's work. Both Hester and Modersohn-Becker share an unflinching gaze, a way of looking at the world, and their subjects, that is both intimate and raw. It's like they’re both searching for something just beyond the surface. Ultimately, the beauty of art is its ability to hold multiple truths, allowing us to find new meanings and connections each time we look.