As part of the new Tate partnership scheme, Ian Naylor was commissioned to 'have a response' to the Tate's portrait of Lee Bowery. The two pieces of work are currently displayed alongside of each other at the Poteries Museum.
Ian includes a statement with the work....
Lucien Freud is celebrated for his almost brutal response to the human figure, using expressive honest marks that celebrate both paint and flesh. He describes his working methods as 'intuitive.....no system......one thing leads to another'
That underplays his role in selecting, relationship building, and general logistics of working directly from another human being. Part of the 'brutality' charge may be due to his abandonment of the traditional flattery requirement of portraiture and the equal interest he shows in all body surfaces - ignoring cultural prudery and lovingly rendering what most regard as flaws.
The piece in question is small, cropped, yet the figure is greater than life size and even looks squashed in. 'Negative space' is only evident in the top half of the painting, framing the flesh with a simple dark complementary opposite. Bowery has just turned 30, hardly a society beauty, and scars hint at a risqué lifestyle. Freud is as interested in his armpit as his eyes, and he makes sure we see the marks at either side of his lips.
So what does it invite me to do? Work small, paint big. Respond directly to sitters who I know well, and 'have asked for reasons other than striking beauty, wealth, or easy availability. People who are past thirty, and carry that record on their skin.
