Balcony Figure 1982

Roland Petersen painted Balcony Figure using thick paint, building up colours and shapes to create a dynamic composition. I imagine Petersen standing before the canvas, brush in hand, pondering the possibilities of this interior scene. The woman is a blocky greeny-blue silhouette in a pale aqua world. What is she looking at? Is she content? Anxious? The colours are really interesting and unnatural—the checkered table is like a wonky chessboard, the hills in the background are like a technicolour dream. There’s something naive about the flatness of the painting, but also something kind of bold, and sophisticated, with the way he’s playing with perspective. These bold, bright colours are really characteristic of Petersen’s wider practice, and they have an affinity with the work of other California painters. The painting invites us to look at the world in new ways. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty. There is no fixed meaning, just multiple possibilities for the viewer.