I Don't Trust Myself When I'm Sleeping 2019

Carla Cabanas made this small painting, "I Don't Trust Myself When I'm Sleeping," using a restricted palette of off-whites and browns, with thin black outlines that feel like a dream half-remembered. I imagine her, sitting with this tiny panel, trying to capture a fleeting thought, a feeling perhaps connected to this dream-like image of a snowy scene. The paint looks thin, almost stained, and the lines are tentative, like a drawing finding its way. Look at how she outlines the figures in the foreground, as if they're cutouts, ghosts in this landscape. I feel like she's questioning how to represent something solid, real, and tangible like a landscape, versus the ephemeral and somewhat scary world of dreams. It reminds me of other artists like, say, Philip Guston, who embraced a similar kind of awkwardness and uncertainty. We’re all in this ongoing conversation, trying to figure out how to make sense of the world through painting, aren't we?