Each figure confronts the viewer with dispassionate arrogance. The effect is to transfix the spectator in the exhausted gaze of the subject. These paintings are stamped with the appearance and taste of a vulgar society. There is an appearance of accessibility but the signification is complex. They are both aesthetically and socially subversive. While the painterly surfaces are superficially charming, upon closer examination they can be seen as veneers concealing troubling psychological and sociological dramas.

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© 1988 - 2024 Paul Richard James