Girl at a Table 1955

Charles Blackman created this painting of a girl at a table with oils. The work is composed of simple shapes in muted greens and blues. I see him, brush in hand, layering these pale colors. A heavy outline gives definition to the objects which are flatly painted, like cutouts. The way he paints her face—the simplified planes of the cheeks, the straight nose, the large blue eyes—it’s like he’s trying to reveal some inner essence of girlhood. It reminds me a little of Alex Katz, who paints figures with an intense, pared-down simplicity, right? I can imagine Blackman thinking about the art of his time, how to make the familiar strange and new again. The painting is an invitation, not to a specific story, but to a feeling. It’s this ambiguity that keeps us looking, wondering, and ultimately connecting with the artist's vision. Like all paintings, it’s a conversation, and it keeps on going.