(Disjointed Portrait)
T. Cecely Daniels
Found 05/2015, Goodwill (Metric and 183)

(Portrait) is perhaps inspired by the school of Cubist art, in particular the technique of breaking an image into facets to explore a concept in more depth and open up a series of lenses, moments in time, or thin slices of motion in a single still image. However, Daniels does not seem to use faceting to open up her subject. Rather, he seems isolated, lost in a strange background that is no place. In making a realistic subject distorted and alien, (Portrait) seems solidly a work of surrealism.

The subject of (Portrait) stares with a fierce intensity. The artist uses white to highlight areas of reflection, and the subject’s hair is slicked back, his grooming precise. Given his intense expression, dark lips and cheeks, and overall level of gloss, he has some of the artificiality of a department store mannequin, another level of unreality cast over the subject.