Justine (2) 1976

Ivan Tovar’s ‘Justine (2)’ is one of those paintings where the longer you look, the less certain you are about what you’re seeing. The paint looks like it has been carefully applied, with smooth, almost airbrushed surfaces, yet the forms themselves are surreal, like something you might find in a dream. The shapes are weirdly suggestive, like body parts, but abstracted and reconfigured, and the colors are muted, almost fleshy, which adds to the uncanny feeling. There is a real tension between the hard lines and solid forms and the sense of movement in the composition. Look at the way Tovar juxtaposes the angular blue square with the soft, bulbous forms of the figure. This is not unlike the earlier work of Picabia, where found images are used to explore new possibilities in representation. The overall impact is both intriguing and slightly unsettling. Like, what is this, and why does it feel so familiar?