Paula Rego’s Animal Farm
By AX Mina
To enter Paula Rego’s paintings is to step into a tumbling, chaotic world of animals living out modern human life. Around the world, animal folktales offer a way to explore human behavior from an acceptable distance. In Rego’s “Central Park” (1984), an orange hippo bares its teeth at the center of a cacophonous composition, while another orange creature — a dog-like animal in a top hat and Oxfords — looks on disapprovingly. Meanwhile, in the bottom right corner, a feminine figure in what looks like a red dress appears to be stabbing a bear in the heart while a duck pours liquid into the bear’s mouth.
“Central Park” is one of about a dozen paintings in Letting Loose, on view at Victoria Miro Gallery. Towering at seven feet and higher, these works invite viewers to stand and absorb the worlds Rego has built. On my visit, many viewers did exactly that, coming up close to the paintings to see the rich details of her brushstrokes, which seem to fly across the canvas in bright colors amid strong black lines.
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Image:
85 7/8 x 102 in
