The Opening II
48" x 60"
1990
Artist's Collection
The departure of The Opening to a happy home in the Clark collection left a large void in the studio. Well, I thought, in a museum, if a painting is shipped out, you hang something else in its place. If I put a different work behind the barmaid, wouldn't I be creating a new painting? Here she is standing in front of Manet's last masterpiece, in which she herself is posed in front of a mirror while her oddly off-center reflection leans over to serve a mysterious customer. This time, placing the puzzle inside an enigma, I've managed to make a painting that is more ambiguous than Manet's. She is, in fact, doubly beside herself--and so would you be if you didn't know from one day to the next which painting would be your home.
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