In the Garden #116 1983

Jennifer Bartlett made 'In the Garden #116' with a bright, limited palette and a focus on simple shapes. I can imagine her standing in front of the canvas, maybe squinting a little in the sun, trying to get the light just right. It’s kind of like she's building a stage set, not just painting a picture. She reduces the garden to a collection of tiles, hedges and the little statue, each holding its own. The slightly off-kilter perspective gives the scene a kind of tension, doesn't it? Like, are we really seeing the garden, or just a version of it? It reminds me a bit of Hockney, and maybe Fairfield Porter, but with its own distinctive voice. Jennifer is in conversation with her peers, and with a lot of art history. Painting always looks forward and backward, simultaneously. But painting, like gardens, always grows.