Shrapnel 2011

Aaron Nagel made this painting, “Shrapnel,” using oil, and it looks like it was made recently. It’s a trip, right? The mark-making here is so smooth, so precise. It's like Nagel’s trying to make painting disappear. The color feels very fleshy, lots of pinks and reds, and the surface is super sleek. You can tell he’s taken his time, layering the paint to build up the form. There’s a real tension between the figure and the pearls; it’s like they’re both falling apart. Look at the way he’s painted the skin around the elbow, that soft curve. There's something so vulnerable about that gesture. It makes you wonder what’s going on inside. Nagel’s got this way of making the unreal feel hyper-real. He reminds me a bit of Odd Nerdrum, but with a modern twist. It's not about answers, it's about feeling the questions.