Glass Slippers 1960

Jo Baer made this painting called 'Glass Slippers', we don't know exactly when or with what, but looking at the image I can imagine the process she went through to create it. The dominant shapes are these strong, black forms suggesting shoes, almost mirrored, with a little flash of pink in between. What a strange little painting! I wonder what she was thinking when she made it. Was she thinking about fashion, about femininity? Maybe it's about illusion, or a dark take on aspiration. The paint looks pretty smooth and even, but I can see the texture of the canvas underneath. This makes me want to know what it might be hiding! That clean line of pink is so simple, yet it totally transforms the image. It gives the shoe a sense of weightlessness, like it's floating. I feel like Jo Baer is in an ongoing conversation with so many other painters, from the minimalists to pop artists. Each artist inspires another. I love how painting can be this form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty.