Miseryland 2010

Dave Macdowell made this painting, "Miseryland," sometime in the 20th century, conjuring a portrait with an unsettling edge. The mark-making here is all about building up layers, a process that reveals more than just the image itself. You can really feel the texture, especially in the face, where pinks and purples clash to create this almost cartoonish effect, and the whole thing is rendered with a tangible, almost palpable quality. The way Macdowell handles the paint—thick in places, thin in others—it feels like a psychological landscape. Look at the eyes, the way they seem to bore into you. There’s this sense of discomfort, a kind of raw vulnerability, laid bare. There is something of Peter Saul in this piece. Like Saul, Macdowell isn't afraid to push boundaries, to embrace the grotesque and the absurd. And I think that's where the power of this painting lies, in its willingness to confront the darker aspects of the human experience.