In the Painter’s forum, I shared a selection of paintings from the exhibition Women Painting Women, which was held at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, in 2022. The paintings I chose to share explore the theme of Selfhood. As Andrea Karnes, the chief curator of the exhibition explains, “Selfhood is explored through representation of the self or a single identity and through representations of the collective woman.” (Karnes, 2022, p.87) The theme of Selfhood examines the subtleties of gesture, posture, and setting to portray the energy or presence of a sitter's psychological, as well as physical, state. 

 

One painting I shared was Nicole Eisenman’s Close to the Edge (2015). It depicts a person’s peaceful nap scene with a cat, but its title—referencing a 1972 Yes music album—suggests conflicts of identity and emotionality. Eisenman said, “I paint the figure because I know the world through my body, I understand my desire and my anxieties through my body …” (idem, p.89)

 

Beyond Karnes’s interpretation, I also drew on ideas from our lecturer Anna Bunting-Branch’s seminar, in which she shared Jakob von Uexkull’s illustration of The fly’s room, The dog’s room and The human’s room to further explora the idea on how embodied perception and lived experience shapes out lenses. 

 

Reflecting on this, I believe Eisenman is perhaps depicting not only through her body as a lens but also through the cat’s sensory world. Interestingly, cats see blue and yellow best, red and green appear as muted shades of grey. In this case, if we imagine the red and green in the painting from the cat’s perspective, the bed is potentially becoming more intimidating, yet the cat stills voluntarily lies peacefully besides her human, as if suggesting they were going through these anxieties together.

 

Towards the end of the presentation, I shared Marlene Dumas’s Jen, (2005).  Karnes commented, “Her sallow complexion and blue lips are at odds 

with her pink and deep-red nipple that, through foreshortening, becomes the dramatic passage in the work, suggesting ecstasy.” (idem, p.112)

 

I highlighted the word ecstasy as I was initially confused by the definition and the context. I had always associate this word either with an overwhelming feeling of great happiness, or as a form of drug, neither of which seemed appropriate in this context. However, I found another definition on Oxford English Dictionary which might fits in the context. according to OED, in the 17th century, this word can mean “The state of being ‘beside oneself’, thrown into a frenzy(madness) or a stupor(unconsciousness), with anxiety, astonishment, fear, or passion.” (OED, 2025)

 

Anna later suggested that Karnes may have been referencing Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, due to the ambivilent facial expression painted on Jen (2005). and I believe this explanation fits Karnes’s context and opened up space for interpretation. 

 

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Reference:

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Karnes, A. (2022) Women painting women. Fort Worth, TX, New York, NY: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth ; DelMonico Books, ARTBOOK/D.A.P. 

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Tate (2025) Marlene Dumas. Jen. 2005 | moma, Tate. Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/102421 (Accessed: 19 May 2025).