Red 7 2022

Monica Ikegwu made this arresting painting, "Red 7", sometime after 1998, probably with oils. It's a powerful portrait, dominated by a single hue. The limited palette heightens the emotional intensity. The glossy, almost wet look of the mouth stands out. Look at how Ikegwu uses the paint thickly to create highlights, contrasting it with the smoother areas of the face. This contrast gives the work a tactile quality, making you almost feel the texture of skin and the slickness of saliva. That glistening mouth—the focal point—seems to push forward, while the eyes, wide and somewhat panicked, look upward and out of the frame. There is something reminiscent of Marlene Dumas in Ikegwu’s confrontational gaze and the way she uses color to convey emotion, but this is also pure Ikegwu, a striking voice in contemporary portraiture. Isn't it amazing how a single color can tell such a complex story?