Looping 2015

Soey Milk made 'Looping' with oil paint to conjure a reverie. I imagine she was searching for something between the figure and the landscape. Look at the way the figure emerges from this hazy swirl of earth tones and soft whites. The paint looks so thin in places, almost like a watercolor, and then elsewhere, especially around the blanket, it's built up in thicker layers. Isn’t it interesting how Milk has intertwined the figure with the landscape? It reminds me of Paula Rego, or maybe even a bit of Klimt, this dreamy, symbolic space that pulls you in. Notice the dark line of the eyebrows, such detail, but then compare this with the background washes – it feels like a conversation between detail and ambiguity. I bet Milk was inspired by other painters and trying to find a way to make it new, to find her own voice in that looping conversation of painting.