Shiri Mordechay on Frank Auerbach
Frank Auerbach, Head of E.O.W III, 1961, Oil on board, 12 1/2 x 12 inches
Each of Frank Auerbach's portraits seems like a bead in a mysterious rosary. I can’t help but notice the intense repetitions that manifest in rich variations of color and texture. While I am overwhelmed by this body of work, I will focus on one piece: Head of EOW III (1961), for which his companion Estella West was the model.
I find this piece penetrating and haunting. It is as if the layers that we don’t see are more disturbing than the visible ones. What we see on the surface emerges as a sharp moment, as a kind of signature. Sometimes I feel that Auerbach’s work is an attempt to visit the dead. Knowing his parents died in Auschwitz provides a window into the ache and agonizing relationship to mortality that comes through in his paintings. I am left to confront reality as a battlefield.
Beneath the visible paint, I sense hidden messages and energies lying under the rubble of a landscape of labor-intensive strokes. But I am puzzled by it. I don’t quite understand what Auerbach’s subconscious might be working out. But, still, I am drawn to the ambiguity and struggle, as though the presence of that battlefield is constantly shaping his progress. I am left feeling that making the invisible visible and painting into the unknown is what drives his obsession. He is known to have spent months and even years on a single piece.
The portrait is not concerned about what I think or the impression it’s making on the world. It is searching for an answer through excavations of Estella’s form, trying to get to the essence of her character. The portrait looks like an element of nature. While its composition consists of measured architecture, it is raw. The marks remind me of automatic writing, as when the hand moves fast across the page and all of the sudden a thought snaps into consciousness. The paint strokes feel quick. All of his marks and gestures are alive. I imagine him searching for the subject, reaching out with his mind and touching it with brush strokes. They lead us on an emotional journey as they trace the logical structures of the form. I experience her through him.
Most of all, I see Estella's human body and I feel an empathy for her. Is she decomposing or coming alive?
Shiri Mordechay, Untitled (Monkey Circus), 2021, Watercolor and sequins on paper, 84 x102 inches
Shiri Mordechay was born in Israel and raised in Nigeria. She received her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from School of Visual Arts in New York, where she now lives.
