Look Who Came to Us ... 2002

Vlada Ralko made “Look Who Came to Us ...” with some kind of paint, probably oil or acrylic, and a brush, but maybe also a rag? The colors are mostly pinks and reds with a touch of white, and a dark blue background. The figure looks a bit like she’s emerging from a big, pink cloud. I imagine Ralko working on this, maybe stepping back, squinting, adding a bit more red here, a dab of white there. She’s trying to get something just right, something about the way the light hits the figure, or maybe it’s about a feeling she wants to convey. The brushstrokes are thick and juicy, full of energy. There’s a conversation happening here with other artists, maybe with Alice Neel, maybe with Marlene Dumas, but it’s also distinctly Ralko. It’s like she’s saying, “I see what you’re doing, and I’m going to try something a little different.” That's what painting is: one artist speaking to another across time, inspiring each other to keep pushing the boundaries of what paint can do.