REFLECTIONS and Related Works

Part of A Thematic Collection - “Mirrors” in 1983

When I painted Reflections and the other works of this period I had begun to search for both color and light in my imagery. It was no longer a search for pure naturalism in the subject. Rather, it was to develop a new level of visual intuition- activation instead of pure restraint.

I painted large scale figurative works in 1978 using a much more muted palette closer to the grayscale pencil drawings of 1975- 1977. My friend and former artist Ivey Hayes visited my studio and saw some of my acrylic sketches and encouraged me to go further. Ivey was a colorist painter, and his words guided me back to Matisse as well as Romare Bearden his favorite artist. Bearden’s layering of images in his collages reminded me of the effects of mirroring.

Richard L Tuck, Reflections, oil on canvas, 36×48”, 1983

With four of the works, created in 1983, the mirror becomes a site of tension, doubling, human form and psychological inquiry. Figures appear fragmented, confronted, or suspended between anonymous interior and exterior worlds. Reflection is never passive here — it is an active force, shaping questions of identity, perception, and the instability of seeing what’s there. Color hues are intense to activate the eyes to search across the painting surface instead of a passive acceptance of flesh.

This collection gathers the larger core works shaped by earlier works that explore these themes, forming a narrative arc that persisted in other works across years, mediums, and emotional registers.