The Somnambulists 2010

Bo Bartlett made 'The Somnambulists', painted in oil with a palette that feels both classic and a little eerie. He’s clearly thinking through the process of image making, it's a painting of a painting, or maybe a film set, which makes you wonder about reality and representation. There’s a fascinating tension in the materiality of this piece. The surface is smooth, almost dreamlike, but when you look closely, you can see the brushstrokes building up the forms, particularly in the faces and the drape of the white skirt. The colour is muted, but the flesh has a radiant quality, bringing a sculptural feel to the forms. I am really drawn to how the edge of the painting in the painting creates a shallow depth and forces you to look into the other reality. The layering effect, like a Russian doll of realities, makes me think of Magritte, who also played with the relationship between image and reality.