"Ala III"
Zachary Klumpp - February 16, 2006

This is Grant’s third painting of Alice Wolny in his mature style. We have a scene of a woman seated and resting her arms on the back of her chair, next to a small table on which is placed a white cloth and a potted plant.

This piece contains echoes of Grant’s earlier style, his hallmark vertical and horizontal brush strokes of color, that created a sort of “pixelated” effect in his older figure paintings. Often the color strokes sweep across the lines of the object but do not hide them altogether. This is most blatant in the green leaves of the potted plant. It is almost ironic when one considers that Adam Grant made a living designing Paint-by-Number pictures. Perhaps he was took a break from staying inside the lines with his figure paintings.

“Ala III” is a rather colorful work. Especially bright are the red handkerchief worn by the model, her teal wrap or slip, and the white tablecloth. But for its brightness the painting is very well shadowed, lending depth and shape to all the objects in the scene. A blue drapery balances the right side of the work with the plant and table on the left. Light shines from the right and highlights the woman’s face, vertical forearm, shoulder and thigh, emphasizing her figure.

There are some interesting elements of this work that strike the observer. One is the picture hung on the wall behind the potted plant. It appears to be a pencil drawing of that very same plant, without color, but mirroring the image in the foreground. This double image effect is found in many of Grant’s other figure drawings, usually a face or other part of the main subject. Another element is the relationship between the folds of the tablecloth, the woman’s slip, and the blue drapery in the background. It appears to be a progression from left of right of increasingly taller folds. This progression of smaller to larger, left to right, is also found in the vertical lines of the table leg on the left, the chair back and the lady’s arm in the center, and the right edge of the drapery. Speaking of lines, there is the s-curve of the woman’s left side that is mirrored in the folds of the drapery on the right. There also appears to be a cross in the center of the painting, found in the lines of the chair back and the crossing of the resting arms.

When taken as a whole, it is a very pleasing work. The paint is not slathered on, but rather is applied in lavish, confident strokes. The figure of the woman is very excellently done, beautiful and clearly the center of attention while not dominating the work. She is relaxed and graceful, gazing thoughtfully (or patiently?) off to the lower right. The work is well-balanced from side to side, and the observer’s gaze is alternately drawn to the woman in the center or the plant on the table, with its double behind it. Grant’s style seems to me to be realistic in regards to proportions and colors, but almost impressionistic in his sweeping strokes of color that cross lines, making a sort of hazy or shiny effect.