A friend and I went to see Kanna Aoki's paintings last night at Brit-Marie's cafe on Solano. I've seen Kanna's work in life-drawing classes over the past 7 years, but only recently saw one of her street paintings -- on a note card! These paintings might be from photos; they feel well observed, with metered emotion. I particularly like the freeway scene with the reflective rear-end of a tanker. (How many times have you wished you could take a picture in that situation, except that you're driving at least 55mph?) The ghost of the painter of modern life appears in her triptych composition of a laundromat. Best in show. The friend knows Kanna, and said she had struggled with perspective of the rows of circular windows on the washing machine doors. I said I could show her how that works in perspective. But why?? Geometric accuracy is useful, but not always an enhancement. Truth is, I prefer how the authentic struggle is evident in the painting. In this case, close looking and confident handling of paint and color trump geometric accuracy.
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