Great Star Media – The Outsider 2020

Owen Gent, a painter from the 20th century, made this painting, "Great Star Media – The Outsider," with what looks like thin layers of acrylic or maybe gouache. The colors are muted, like a faded memory, teal, salmon, and sandy brown. I can imagine Gent building up the scene bit by bit, the way we piece together a dream after waking. He probably used loose brushstrokes to give the impression of vast space and the figure is turning away from the ocean, not towards it. I wonder if Gent was thinking about loneliness, alienation, the feeling of being on the margins. The way the figure's form dissolves into the ground makes me think of the fragility of existence, the temporary nature of identity. It reminds me a bit of Hopper, but with a softer touch. Artists always borrow from each other, build upon what came before, and this feels like a continuation of a long, thoughtful conversation.