Bedroom Portfolio #1 1978

Tom Wesselmann made "Bedroom Portfolio #1", a color screenprint, sometime during his career. I’m struck by the way Wesselmann simplifies form, boiling it down to these planes of color. Look at the glossy black hair, and the bright red lips. It's a graphic sensibility, with a Pop Art punch. The color palette feels really crucial here; they don’t blend, they are distinct but it’s really about the interaction of flat colors. The way Wesselmann renders the face makes me think about Matisse, especially the way he flattens the picture plane. There's a shared interest in paring down to essentials, and finding the beauty in the ordinary. Wesselmann’s work, like Matisse’s, suggests that art isn't about perfect representation, but about seeing and feeling.