Glass and Shells 1990

Janet Fish made this painting, “Glass and Shells,” with what looks like oil paint, and boy, does she make it sing! You can see the process right on the surface, like a recipe for color. Look at how she builds up those forms, especially the glass bowls. The paint isn’t trying to hide anything; it’s scrubbed on in places, and layered in others, creating these luminous, shimmery surfaces. There’s a real push-pull between abstraction and representation. I love how the light hits those objects, and the way she exaggerates it. It's as if the light itself is another object, with as much heft as the shells. That shadow cast from the glass bowl looks like it’s made of melted butter! Fish reminds me of Lois Dodd, in the way she takes these everyday objects and elevates them through a kind of joyful looking and active mark making. It shows you that painting is as much about feeling as it is about seeing.