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拍品专文
Painted in 1988, Wayne Thiebaud’s Receptionist is a complex and multi-layered painting which explores in detail the depth of the artist’s painterly practice. In this intimately-scaled work, Thiebaud demonstrates how light helps to define form, and challenges the traditional use of perspective. The figure of the lonely woman is formed, not out of her own features, but by the dazzling, almost iridescent backdrop behind her. The bright candy-colored stripes glow brightly as the strong rays of light cast her into darkness as her heavy shadow falls across the desk. This dichotomy between light and dark sets up a palpable tension within the painting, as the woman’s mood seems at odds with her cheerful environment.
Thiebaud’s strong use of light also helps to accentuate the feeling of isolation that is present in many of his figurative paintings. As in Receptionist, the artist often depicts his figures in solitary situations, either caught up in their own thoughts or staring out directly from the picture plane. The sparse nature of the composition draws the viewer in, intrigued to learn more. As curator Karen Tsujimoto notes, “This clinical austerity creates a non-narrative context that forces the artist, and the viewer, to concentrate on the figure. The lighting technique also allows Thiebaud to explore more fully a concern related to his still lifes: how strong light defines form, enhances the effects of halation, and alters our perception of reality… By staring rather than merely glancing, he has found, the subject and the moment are infinitely expanded and clarified by the total engagement of the eye. This phenomenon, coupled with the spare environment and the intensity of illumination, heightens his perception of visual data” (K. Tsujimoto, “Thiebaud: The Figure,” in Wayne Thiebaud: The Figure, New York, 2008, p. 7).
In addition, the traditions of perspective also come under investigation as Thiebaud appears to manipulate the conventional use of space, changing the structure of the composition by flattening the desk within the context of the picture plane, yet placing the tall podium just to the right as if floating in its own deeper area of space. The complexity of such a small-scale work is a clear manifestation of the deeply intellectual nature of Thiebaud’s work. What appear to be simple interpretations of everyday scenes, are in fact incredibly complex painterly constructions which reward prolonged and considered study.
Thiebaud’s strong use of light also helps to accentuate the feeling of isolation that is present in many of his figurative paintings. As in Receptionist, the artist often depicts his figures in solitary situations, either caught up in their own thoughts or staring out directly from the picture plane. The sparse nature of the composition draws the viewer in, intrigued to learn more. As curator Karen Tsujimoto notes, “This clinical austerity creates a non-narrative context that forces the artist, and the viewer, to concentrate on the figure. The lighting technique also allows Thiebaud to explore more fully a concern related to his still lifes: how strong light defines form, enhances the effects of halation, and alters our perception of reality… By staring rather than merely glancing, he has found, the subject and the moment are infinitely expanded and clarified by the total engagement of the eye. This phenomenon, coupled with the spare environment and the intensity of illumination, heightens his perception of visual data” (K. Tsujimoto, “Thiebaud: The Figure,” in Wayne Thiebaud: The Figure, New York, 2008, p. 7).
In addition, the traditions of perspective also come under investigation as Thiebaud appears to manipulate the conventional use of space, changing the structure of the composition by flattening the desk within the context of the picture plane, yet placing the tall podium just to the right as if floating in its own deeper area of space. The complexity of such a small-scale work is a clear manifestation of the deeply intellectual nature of Thiebaud’s work. What appear to be simple interpretations of everyday scenes, are in fact incredibly complex painterly constructions which reward prolonged and considered study.