The Pale 2012

Aaron Nagel painted "The Pale" with what looks like oil on canvas. Nagel has a really tight, precise way of working, which I can totally appreciate. It's like he's building up these layers of thin glazes to create the illusion of volume and light. The skin tones are super subtle, almost like a photograph, but then you get these moments where the paint becomes really physical, like in the way the light catches the curves of the bodies. The way he's handled the black gloves is so interesting too. They're glossy and reflective, but also kind of ominous. They create this barrier, a layer of artifice that separates the figures from us, and maybe even from themselves. It reminds me of Jenny Saville, in the sense of confronting beauty and its relationship to the body. But Nagel brings a certain moodiness to it that's all his own. Ultimately, it's about beauty and its shadow, about how we perceive ourselves and the world around us.