Untitled #8 (From A Song for My Mother series)
Artist
Brenda Goodman
(American, born 1943)
Date1995
MediumOil on wood panel
Dimensions80 × 60 in. (203.2 × 152.4 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Christina and Chato Hill, 2010
Object numberUAC4276
DescriptionBrenda Goodman's images exist within an artistic duality - that of loss and joy, of pain and peace. Drawing from the age of eight, Goodman united with the Cass Corridor artists' community during her time at the College for Creative Studies earning her B.F.A. Her work within the community explored themes of vulnerability, mortality, and existentiality, leading to the creation of symbolic self-portraits and depictions of meditative rooms. Her artistic exploration during her time in Detroit led up to a rebirth of ideas in 1985.Inspired artistically by the expressive forms and demented realities of Francis Bacon, Oskar Kokoschka, and Willem de Kooning, Goodman's artistic technique is emotionally charged with all the dualities of beauty and deformity. Untitled No. 8 is from a series of paintings titled 'A Song for My Mother,' detailing the artist's struggle to come to terms with her mother's battle with lung cancer and ultimate passing in 1972. Utilizing color as narrative, Goodman paints anguish and forgiveness with bright bursts of red over subdued dabs of placid hues. A hidden praying figure, draped in rouge, looks above seeking clarity, alluding to the religious depictions of Renaissance masters. Untitled No. 8 is the largest of the works created for the series, and its scale further alludes to ecclesiastical grandeur.
Goodman has two upcoming solo exhibitions in the Detroit area. Presented by the College for Creative Studies, Brenda Goodman: Paintings 1961 - 2015, runs November 13th though December 19th at CCS Center Galleries and features this painting, Untitled No. 8. Paul Kotula Projects will be hosting A Life on Paper from November 14th through December 19th in Ferndale, Michigan.
Text by Catherine Milewski
Collections
