Katherine 1907

Clarence Gagnon made this painting of Katherine with visible brushstrokes and a soft, muted palette. It’s like witnessing the messy, beautiful process of artmaking itself. The materiality of this work is pretty fascinating; you can see where the paint is laid on thick, almost sculptural in places, and then thin and transparent in others. Take a look at the dab of dark paint just behind Katherine's head. It hints at the darkness of a coat hanging on the door, but the way it's applied is almost abstract, like a thought half-formed. The energy in these marks feels so personal, intimate even. It’s reminiscent of Whistler's tonalist approach, but with a warmer, more domestic feel. Ultimately, though, it's about ambiguity, the way a painting can be both a representation of something real and a thing in itself.