Tag: falk gernegroß

Falk Gernegroß – Twister (2014)

If I weren’t feeling as if–perhaps–I have insisted on being a bit to solipsistic and autobiographic in responding to stuff recently, I would likely talk about how I relate to the awkward girl to the right. (That was totally me at ten.)

But I think there are more interesting things to interrogate here–like how color adds to the sense of the painting.

You’ll note that the left-most young woman, the stripe on her socks is color coordinated to her cami. The middle young woman’s skirt matches the stripe of her socks. Whereas the girl who is my surrogate is purposely isolated not only by her position in the frame, her being blocked by the stretching leg of the young woman in the middle, but he outfit purposely doesn’t coordinate–she’s wearing white socks, one of which is up to her knee; the other which is pushed down to her lower shins. Further, her skirt is more orange the the yellow circles on the Twister board and her knickers are far more pink–the sort of bubble gum hot pink that you only find in juniors sizes.

There’s also the way that the two older girls are intertwined. They are positioned in such a way that they can’t really see anything of each other. (The angle of view offered the audience is what’s suggestive not what we’re seeing. I mean it’s clear that the young woman in the pink top can’t really see up the skirt of the young woman in the yellow top. She also can’t check out her figure because the girl in the yellow top’s right leg is blocking things.

Similarly the young woman with the braid can’t see up the young woman in the pink top’s skirt either. The situation is suggestive upon first glance–until it’s not.

The boy peering over the fence Wilson from Home Improvement style could be a surrogate for the audience or the painter. I’m inclined to believe it’s the painter. What makes me think that is that the women/girl in this are presented in a typical short hand: blond, brunette, redhead. Also: bun, braid, pony tail.

Still, I’m not willing to dismiss it because the colors and subtle gradations are just punchy af and the tableau is resonate.

This is the second time I’ve featured Gernegroß’s work. And I think what I’ve gotten a little bit better hand on is how he’s combining the tool developed over time in the pursuit of figurative painting and giving it a pop art nodding/Balthus inflected spin.