The Creeping Flesh 1991

Glenn Brown’s painting, The Creeping Flesh, presents a kind of grotesque beauty through his unique process of artmaking. The materiality of this work screams at you! The paint is thickly applied, almost sculptural, creating a tactile surface that begs to be touched. Look closely, and you can see the individual strokes, swirling and twisting like viscous liquid. The colors, a muted palette of grays, blues, and browns, add to the eerie atmosphere. The artist's hand is evident in every mark, revealing the physicality of the medium, creating a sense of emotional depth. Notice the way Brown builds up the paint around the central form, obscuring and distorting the representation. This approach reminds me of Francis Bacon's distorted figures, where the human form is stretched and manipulated to convey psychological turmoil. Ultimately, Brown's painting embraces ambiguity, inviting us to contemplate the fleeting nature of the human condition.