Citadine 2013

Carlos Sablòn made this painting, Citadine, with oil on canvas. Just imagine Sablòn carefully layering the pigment to create the whimsical and unsettling imagery, adding and subtracting, building up forms from thin washes to create a dreamy state. The woman's calm face and the strange Babel tower on her head make me think about the weight of history and cultural baggage we carry. What was Sablòn thinking as he depicted this strange image? What does it mean to carry so much on your head?! Look at how he's echoed the shape of the tower in the landscape. It makes me think of painters like de Chirico and Magritte, who played with perspective and scale in their works. And that little boat floating in the sky! It’s like a tiny thought, sailing away into the sunset. I think we're all just borrowing and riffing on each other. Painting is a conversation that goes on through time. It makes me feel like anything is possible.