Returns of the Day was one of the highlights of the recent Five Year Anniversary group show at Jonathan Levine gallery. I have been consistently having my head blown by Ray Caesar's work for some time now. However, this piece stands out as something new or at least unique in Caesar's catalog.
First there is all that lovely light and shadow play. The ornate molding, so quintessentially Caesar, whites out in the light flare on the left and is consumed by shadow on the right. Then there is the inclusion of motion and action. His previous work has often featured the posed or at least still figure. Here the composition is alive with the movement of the figure in to the frame and exquisitely the arc of the figures knife wielding arm slashing through the scene. The image is poised on the cusp of action, hung on the anticipation of violent menace (albeit violent menace perpetrated on a birthday cake).
However, the detail that really sucks me in to the piece is the peculiar spinal ridge that rises up out of, yet appears to be part of, the lovely lacquered table. So incongruous of the immaculate setting, so mysterious and oh so very shiny. Which leads me to one last observation. The luscious black of the lower half of this work, in all it's texture and fine detail, could this have been executed in another medium? The ability of Caesar's work to be as textural and lush as oil paint in a digital medium has always amazed. But could we now, in this piece, be seeing the high rez digital print outpace the storied medium of oil on canvas? It will be interesting to see what the artist does over this next year.
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