Grace Lee British, b. 1995
11 x 8 1/4 in
They sometimes feel compelled to make a painting with a fully black background, and this was one of those occasions. Colour appears entirely different against black, as though a spotlight has isolated only what is fundamentally important. Of the three paintings, this work is the least conceptually cohesive, and so they approach it through a series of observations about what feels fundamentally important within it. The devil’s expression remains somewhat inscrutable: part curious, part annoyed, part surprised. The brow is furrowed while the eyes remain wide. The term “work” itself is ambiguous, both when referring to labour and when referring to art. Music notes flow from an unknown location toward an unknown destination. The devil makes work for idle hands.
