Un délice à la fois (One Delicacy at a Time)

“Manet’s ‘The Luncheon on the Grass’ inspired the series. The people on the canvases are caught enjoying moments of self-reflection. Every one of them turns his / her gaze inward, sinking into a reflective and thickening silence. It is intense, but pleasurable. Momentarily stasis permeates the scenes, while the clear geometrical shapes emphasize the rarity of moments like that and the usual vulnerabilities of the now tranquil faces. That time has stopped for the people within the paintings is in stark contrast with the active role I needed to take on as a painter. By capturing the characters personal moments of meditative inaction, the paintings open up a space for a rare mode of memory formation, enabling the viewers to experience happy times that are usually left unremembered.”