Study Hand and Mouth 1973

Tom Wesselmann made 'Study Hand and Mouth', a painting of a hand holding a cigarette and touching a mouth, sometime during his career. The flesh tones are so smooth, like an advertisement, and the edges are hard. The mouth appears slightly out of place, as if cut from a magazine, yet it is skillfully rendered, fleshy and round. Notice how the light reflects off the wetness inside, a real feat of observation! The hand, so elegantly poised with its neatly painted nails, is caught in a moment of tactile exploration, the cigarette held casually between its fingers. There's something so cool and detached about this piece, it reminds me of Alex Katz, but more graphic. You can see how Wesselmann influenced the next generation of pop artists. It's like a beautifully painted billboard, striking, seductive, and more than a little bit strange.