Room of Imaginary Creatures – Accompanying the poem Exit by Mike Ladd 2018

Owen Gent made this picture to go with a poem by Mike Ladd, and it feels like it emerged slowly, layer upon layer, building up to this final image. I imagine Gent, maybe listening to the poem on repeat, pushing the paint around, letting it pool and settle. The palette is muted – pinks and reds meet a creeping black mass. The paint isn't too thick, but it has enough body to hold these quiet tones, and it's a world of suggestion. The seat of a chair glows red, a void amidst the pink ground, surrounded by an approaching darkness. I wonder what Gent was thinking about when he made this. Was he trying to capture the feeling of the poem, or was he letting the materials lead him? The black mass towering over the empty chair is pure drama. It reminds me of Goya's darker works, but with a contemporary spin. It's like Gent is having a conversation with artists across time, and I can practically hear it. Painting is just a big, messy conversation, where we all borrow and steal from each other, inspiring new thoughts and feelings.