David Zwirner, Los Angeles, California
Continues through April 12, 2025
March 22, 2025
Naked women, the artist's studio, lurid colors, dynamic but thoughtful compositions are all elements closely associated with Lisa Yuskavage's paintings. Yuskavage packs each work, large or small, with quirky, personal narratives that engage the subject of artist and muse and, often, exaggerated representation of female sexuality. The artist is present in her most recent compositions, standing at an easel, sometimes wearing a white lab coat with a paintbrush in hand or seen near scantily clad models who taunt or tease the viewer.
In Yuskavage's paintings, the studio becomes a stage onto which scenarios are projected. In the monumental work “The Artist's Studio” (2022) — also reproduced on a giant billboard adjacent to the facade of the gallery — a cherub-faced half-nude girl stares out of the painting, dressed in a tight-fitting but also draped pink t-shirt that covers the upper portion of her body. She also wears colorful striped knee-high socks, exposing her bare thighs. She holds a bright green painter's palette that suggests, curiously, she is both artist and model. Behind her is a large painting of a landscape filled with green hills, a few orange clouds, and a single female figure — a peasant character from an earlier work, “Nel'zah’s” (2012) — offering a green plate. Toward the back of the studio, a woman sits at a table reading a book. Miscellaneous ladders, props and unfinished paintings are scattered in the space, all with gray, tan, or light brown hues, in contrast to the more finished and vivid depiction of the figure in the landscape.
From the Renaissance to modern times, self-portraits of the artist at work in their studio have been a common subject, as the model is an ever-present option. In some ways, Yuskavage follows in this tradition, inserting herself and prior artworks into her recent paintings. But Yuskavage often poses an ironic challenge or provocation. “Painter Painting” (2024) is a large-scale oil with the artist at its center, her back to the viewer. She is in the midst of creating a grayish portrait of a doll-like woman with huge breasts. The painting within the painting dwarfs the artist, whose head is smack in the middle of her subject's cleavage. Two sketches/studies of nudes are adhered with blue tape to the painting in progress. A small sculptural maquette of the naked woman in the painting is placed on a stool nearby. Older works surround the artist, alerting us that Yuskavage is mining her past for inspiration.
The artist at work is absent in “In the Company of Models” (2024). While the studio setting is similar to that of “Painter Painting,” Yuskavage here presents not as a painter, but rather a younger version of herself as a model who emerges from a bright green wall in a like-colored dress. Though legless, her body position suggests the beginning of a formal dance. The central figure — a seductive female nude wearing nothing but beaded panties — is surrounded by stacked depictions of Yuskavage's past paintings, such as the bright yellow “Rorschach Blot” (1995).
This exhibition, Yuskavage's first solo show in Los Angeles in 30 years, includes both large- and small-scale paintings. Seen in relation to each other, the works make informative overlaps that illustrate her process, passions and history — an audacious choice. Yuskavage recontextualizes old works by placing them in a studio setting — as if to say “this is where I began, this is where I am now, and I am happy to take you on a journey from then to now to show you what a magnificent painter I have turned out to be.” Yuskavage has a unique way of celebrating both the vulnerability and stoicism of the artist's model. She has a knack for portraying the complexities of the artist herself at work.
Jody Zellen is a LA based writer and artist who creates interactive installations, mobile apps, net art, animations, drawings, paintings, photographs, public art, and artist’s books. Zellen received a BA from Wesleyan University (1983), a MFA from CalArts (1989) and a MPS from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (2009). She has exhibited nationally and internationally since 1989. For more information please visit www.jodyzellen.com.
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