Bizarre 1928

Allen Tucker’s “Bizarre” is a painting full of delightful surfaces and textures. Look at the way he builds up the paint, not trying to hide the strokes, but letting them play and dance. The real action for me is in the shirt. It's a real formal push-pull between flatness and depth. The way he uses color there, with those little squiggles of bright shades, you can feel him thinking, figuring things out as he goes. There is a real confidence in those broken lines. Tucker reminds me a bit of Bonnard, both have this incredible ability to make something that feels so off-the-cuff and casual, and so carefully considered at the same time. Ultimately, the painting feels more like a question than an answer, inviting you to just spend time with it.