Languor of Jacob and Rachel 2009

Alexander Roitburd’s “Languor of Jacob and Rachel” seems to have emerged through lots of layering, those sandy tones, brown and pink, with rough brushstrokes. It makes you want to reach out and feel the texture. Looking at the two figures in the center, I can see the artist playing with the conventional language of love and art history. It seems to me that Roitburd is trying to express something about human connection. Maybe the figures on the left and right, with their heads in their hands, are saying something about the struggle to make those connections? The figures remind me a bit of Paula Rego, with her strange, distorted bodies. You can see how Roitburd is in conversation with other painters, riffing on love, painting, and longing. Ultimately, these painted gestures are so full of possibility, inviting us to feel, reflect, and re-imagine what painting and love can be.