The Predicament 1955

"The Predicament" is an oil painting made by Arthur Sarnoff, and the way he’s built up the surface is a bit like watching someone work out a problem, layer by layer. The colour is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, especially that bright, almost cartoonish yellow background. It flattens the space, pushing everything forward, like a stage set. Look at the way the light bounces off the water – dabs and dashes of warm and cool tones that suggest movement and reflection. Sarnoff isn't trying to trick us with realism; instead, he’s giving us just enough information to fill in the blanks. He revels in the texture and the way the paint sits on the surface. This feels connected to the work of Norman Rockwell, also in that they are both embracing a certain sense of nostalgia, but Sarnoff has pared everything back to its essence. It's not about capturing a perfect likeness, but about using paint to tell a story, and to catch a mood.