Nathan Oliviera - Head of Man

I really love this painting "Head of Man" by Nathan Oliviera. It blurs the boundaries among drawing, painting and sculpture. Ghostly and beautiful.

I saw this Raymond Staprans painting at the Hackett-Friedman the other day. It's called "Beach in Spain." I really enjoyed the Staprans show. Some of the pieces resembled Diebenkorns, or even Thiebolds with their neon palette and focus on geometry, yet others had a darker sensibility, recalling such artists as Frank Auerbach.

For some reason this painting in particular stuck in my mind. Perhaps it is his use of the paint (applied in meaty portions in some areas and thinly in others), or perhaps it is the way the painting looks stitched together, or perhaps the simple and very real subject of the painting: a girl turns away in thought as she walks down the street.