Rewilding 2017

Joshua Flint’s painting, Rewilding, uses oil paint to create a disquieting scene of figures dressed in ghostly animal costumes. I imagine him starting with thin washes of color, letting the figures slowly emerge from the background, only to be disrupted with broad gestural strokes. The making of the painting must have felt like a constant back and forth. There is the scrubbing away of a passage only to rework it again, searching for form in a mist of layered brushstrokes. The three figures inhabit an indeterminate space, a strange intersection of domestic interior and overgrown wilderness, which activates an unsettling psychological atmosphere. There are touches of vivid color, like the small spots of red near the seated figure. I love how Flint builds upon earlier traditions of figurative painting while pushing forward into a more personal and contemporary idiom. As painters, we are always looking, borrowing, and revising ideas, which contribute to a long lineage of artistic exploration. By embracing uncertainty, Flint creates a space for reflection and individual interpretation.