Suspension 2003

Editor: This is Jenny Saville’s "Suspension," created in 2003, an oil painting that just hits you with its visceral figuration. The bold strokes and fleshy tones are pretty overwhelming, even confrontational. What can you tell me about this work? Curator: Look at the sheer materiality of the paint. Saville's application is incredibly physical, almost sculptural. We see how the labor is evident in each brushstroke, building the form but also challenging traditional, idealized representations of the nude. How does this materiality affect your understanding of the subject, the female form? Editor: I guess it pushes back against any sort of idealized, passively consumed image. The paint itself seems to have a life of its own, separate from representing the figure. It's less about looking and more about *encountering* something… substantial. Curator: Precisely. Consider how the raw pigment, the heavy application of oil paint, serves to emphasize the corporeal nature of the body. This links directly to questions about labor, production, and the act of seeing. Do you see any challenge of the conventions between 'high art' and the materiality of craft, labour? Editor: I see that now. The emphasis isn’t just on *what* is represented, but *how* it’s made, how it takes form through physical action. The sheer physicality is almost…vulgar, refusing any sort of refinement. Curator: Yes, and how that “vulgarity,” if we can call it that, reclaims agency. It foregrounds the body not as a polished commodity but as something actively, even laboriously, constructed through paint. And notice how those drips aren’t just accidents, but extensions of that process, further blurring boundaries between figure and ground. Editor: It’s fascinating how Saville makes you think about painting not just as representation, but as a process rooted in materials and labor. Thanks, I will keep that in mind when thinking about her paintings. Curator: Indeed. Reflecting on how artists use materiality reveals power structures within art and its reception. A closer inspection of materials reveals their role in actively challenging and redefining conventional perspectives.