painted 2009, review by Sally Ferguson
Nicole Eisenman, Whitechapel Gallery . Viewed 16th Dec 2023 posted 10th March 2024
Eisenmans painting is sad characters in a procession across the canvas. Each element, each individual is portrayed differently so that one is drawn to look at each person- why does one have a marvel comic mask, why is one white , and one red? Here there is a mother and child . The skin texture of the woman in the car is rough- perhaps applied with a palette knife. At the front the dog is sad and the child - probably from Africa-has kwashiorkor ( the swollen belly of lack of protein type of starvation) and there is a green hued child who could be Oliver from Oliver Twist ( please sir, can I have some more?).
At the front the red faced mans head is so bowed it reeks of shame and despair, and his cheek is flushed with embarrassment. The baby’s mouth is a worried O, and the turquoise of the blanket contrasts with the woman’s teal/dark green shirt. The colours draw one in - the babys face tones are green, flesh, ochre and pink, and the mothers eyes are cast down and her mouth small- “I can do nothing about all this…” Why is the split between first and middle finger so wide?
What is the significance of the man in the topcoat who’s buttocks are in front- perhaps he is the capitalist responsible for the economy collapse which is the stimulus for this painting.? The rats of Hamelyn are at his feet and he has a string connected to the tiny Breugel figures following the rats. The foreclosure of houses - is hinted at by the house, at the back, the ordinary american dream . It has a picket fence and there is fire from the chimney- its going to burn down. Why is the lady at the wheel of the car “patched”- and why is her nose red like a beacon ?
The pale man is hopeless, with his pockets empty and his trousers hanging on him. Perhaps the faces of the last 4 people at the back are displaying a quiet anger.
Eisenmans painting is figurative and broadranging in her depiction of her subjects as well as her themes. This- one of the most political appeals to me as does “Coping” from the year before which speaks to me of climate chaos - the people in the town are walking through a flood. ( see below, painted 2008)
Eisenmans other themes can be crushing and cruel- to provoke, Female Inuit use a hanging man above an ice hole as bait. The earlier lesbian sex is very provocative-in your face ; but later it is tender and normal (waking up in the morning together). See below ...
There is sculpture too...
One magnificent feminist artist
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