Ivory Black 1997

Marlene Dumas made this painting, called *Ivory Black*, with oil paint on canvas. The title gives us a hint. It looks like Dumas has used a very limited palette, maybe just black and white, and then thinned it out with some kind of medium to create these ghostly, translucent layers. I wonder what she was thinking? Perhaps she was fascinated by the way light interacts with surfaces, how it can reveal and conceal at the same time. See how the figure seems to emerge from a hazy, dreamlike space. The paint is so thin it’s like watercolor. The way she's applied the paint is very deliberate, with each stroke adding to the overall effect of ethereal beauty and vulnerability. Do you see how the thin washes of paint create a sense of depth and atmosphere? It reminds me of the paintings of Francis Picabia, whose work she has often referenced. It’s as if they are having a conversation across time. And isn't that what painting is all about?