Incendiary 2015

Editor: Here we have Aaron Nagel's "Incendiary," from 2015, an oil painting depicting a nude figure on what looks like a quilted bed. There's a certain vulnerability in the pose, a sense of intimate realism. What can you tell us about this piece? Curator: What strikes me is Nagel’s attention to the texture – not just of the flesh, but also the fabric of the bedding. Oil paint is used here to reproduce the patterns of production; of fabric making as much as figure-making. It almost fetishizes the manufacturing, both of art and textiles. How does this level of detail change our reading of intimacy in the image? Editor: That’s an interesting point. The textures almost become as important as the figure itself. Do you see this as a commentary on the commodification of the body, then? Curator: Perhaps. Or it's simply recognizing the interconnectedness. The artist uses the material qualities of oil paint to represent other material objects - fabric, skin, all things that are touched, produced, consumed. Are we invited to consider the labor and the economic conditions behind both the creation of the painting and the scene it depicts? Editor: I never thought of it that way. It feels much less romantic now. Curator: And perhaps more real? This isn't just about seeing, but also about understanding how art and life are fundamentally rooted in material processes. Editor: So, paying attention to the oil paint itself encourages us to think critically about what we see in the painting and, perhaps, in the world outside. I’ll definitely remember to look for that in future works!