Made in Japan 1964

Martial Raysse made this perplexing oil painting, "Made in Japan" at an unknown date. Just look at that green! It's as if the whole painting has been dipped in it! It gives a strange, otherworldly feel, and you can almost smell the oil paint. The texture seems smooth, almost slick, but something about it makes you want to touch it, to see if the green comes off on your fingers. It is as though Raysse has thrown something together that really shouldn't work but somehow does, like some of my paintings! The sharp angles and flat planes feel very modern, whilst the subject matter – a reclining nude – feels like something from art history. Like Manet, he is turning the tables on us! The title makes me think about the commodification of culture, and how everything becomes a product, even art.