Painting is dead.
The notion that painting is an outdated and irrelevant medium today has come up in recent years in the art world. Move over painting, it’s the era of installation, video and sculpture. No one proves this statement wrong more so than Jenny Saville.
Throughout this essay I will be taking a look at Jenny Saville and one of her earliest yet most stirring pieces - Branded. This is a painting notable for both its brave and outrageous subject matter and its sophisticated technique. The technique is an early example of Saville’s natural talent with paint, and her fascination with and dedication to painting flesh. Qualities which have hugely informed her later work. The subject matter can, and has been, considered a bold feminist …show more content…
Her work has continued to be daring and controversial. She tackles ideas of body image, society, transitions and change, death, and imperfection through her strong compositions and unique understanding of paint. She has truly pushed the boundaries of what paint can do. In an art world where painting is increasingly less valued and competing against the flashy new technology of video and installation, Saville has managed to carve a place for herself and her magnificent paintings. It is refreshing to see these women; modern women, imperfect women, against the backdrop of thousands of images of idealised femininity. While there’s no limit to the number of pages one could write on Jenny Saville and Branded, no limit to the conversations and theories it could spark, my conclusion is simple. Saville created a painting that grabs your attention, forces a strong and often conflicted reaction within you, and makes you think. It’s a catalyst to challenge, and perhaps even change your preconceptions, both in regard to your own views and the views we are fed by an ever-patriarchal society. These are paintings that are contemporary, relevant, controversial and undeniably very much
The notion that painting is an outdated and irrelevant medium today has come up in recent years in the art world. Move over painting, it’s the era of installation, video and sculpture. No one proves this statement wrong more so than Jenny Saville.
Throughout this essay I will be taking a look at Jenny Saville and one of her earliest yet most stirring pieces - Branded. This is a painting notable for both its brave and outrageous subject matter and its sophisticated technique. The technique is an early example of Saville’s natural talent with paint, and her fascination with and dedication to painting flesh. Qualities which have hugely informed her later work. The subject matter can, and has been, considered a bold feminist …show more content…
Her work has continued to be daring and controversial. She tackles ideas of body image, society, transitions and change, death, and imperfection through her strong compositions and unique understanding of paint. She has truly pushed the boundaries of what paint can do. In an art world where painting is increasingly less valued and competing against the flashy new technology of video and installation, Saville has managed to carve a place for herself and her magnificent paintings. It is refreshing to see these women; modern women, imperfect women, against the backdrop of thousands of images of idealised femininity. While there’s no limit to the number of pages one could write on Jenny Saville and Branded, no limit to the conversations and theories it could spark, my conclusion is simple. Saville created a painting that grabs your attention, forces a strong and often conflicted reaction within you, and makes you think. It’s a catalyst to challenge, and perhaps even change your preconceptions, both in regard to your own views and the views we are fed by an ever-patriarchal society. These are paintings that are contemporary, relevant, controversial and undeniably very much