Piggyback II 2021

James Jean made "Piggyback II," and straight away I’m thinking about how painting lets artists make up their own worlds. I can imagine Jean in his studio, working with a delicate touch. Look at the smooth, even surface, the soft colors blending in a dream-like haze, and the fine, controlled lines. He's built up this image layer by layer, carefully balancing the composition. It makes me think about the labor and patience involved, but also the playfulness and freedom. I love the motifs here, a mermaid-like creature giving piggyback to a fox mask, a monkey and a salamander. Are they totems? Are they characters in a story? “Piggyback II” looks like a digital painting, and you can see how much Jean’s illustrations are indebted to the lineage of figurative painting going back to the Pre-Raphaelites. Artists riff off each other all the time, building on the past, remixing images and ideas. Each artist leaves their personal mark, like an accent or inflection, on a visual language we all share. This painting has a haunting, lyrical quality that speaks to a place of imagination and memory.