Ivy Between Legs (1981)

“Ivy Between Legs” (1981) continues my exploration of the human fragment—the partial figure as a self‑contained subject. As in “Ivy and Back of Figure”, isolating the body within space allows it to take on new structural and spatial roles. Here, the legs become a frame, shaping the void the ivy vine reaches into.

The legs and the supporting stool form a kind of visual ladder, a recurring device in my Ivy Series that gives the “floating” vine something to climb. In this painting, however, the curving contours of the legs introduce a more fluid mid‑ground—bridging the straight geometry of the stool with the curling, organic movement of the ivy leaves.

The left thigh fragment (upper right) cuts sharply across the corner, pushing the space forward and creating an intimate, close‑up viewpoint. The inner edge of the right leg, slightly bent, sweeps from the top center toward the left before descending to the lower right, guiding the eye in a slow arc. The ivy occupies the charged space between these two limbs, while the opening beneath the lower right leg reveals the stool legs behind pulling the viewer’s gaze back up toward the opposite corner where the left thigh reappears.

This instinctive visual pull brings the figure closer, tightening the spatial tension. The painting’s execution—though in oil—felt akin to applying pastels, much like the process behind Back Against Hallway.

·        Dimensions: 20″ × 24″

·        Medium: Oil on mat board

·        Framing: Custom-framed by me to

complement my specific

painting aesthetic.