Eye Candy

Sami Davidson’s “Eye Candy” presents a thrilling contrast of painting techniques and tones to create a sweeping and monumental composition that entices the viewer. The composition vacillates between jewel tones and neon washes of color punctuated by meticulous mark-making techniques. Abstract in nature, Davidson’s powerful range of saturated hues spans from diffuse pastel layers of pigment to darker, powerful aggregation of pigment primarily in central areas of the picture plane. The artist notes that they work with color intuitively, and here they present an informed approach to painting in the contrast of colorful washes of pigment foregrounded by sharp, thin curvilinear marks spanning the composition. This visual texture brings an element of latent tension to the forefront in “Eye Candy.” The artwork is the result of careful layering, with disparate yet carefully selected acrylic colors applied with a remarkable range of brushstrokes. The artist’s adroit use of gradient and the dexterity of how the artist employs paint - incorporating a range of processes including drips, scratches and marks, and washes - result in an artwork that viscerally engages the viewer. The presence of the underlying canvas distinctly asserts itself in moments throughout the composition where swaths of bare canvas shimmer through thin washes of pigment. This combination of carefully layered acrylic hues juxtaposed against the hint of canvas beneath titillates the viewer, offering visual dexterity to painting’s observer.