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"... the surprise standout here [at Bay Area Currents 2010 Show] is a quartet of portraits by Rosemary Allen. Temporarily abandoning her abstract work, Allen has made a series of photo-based portraits of construction workers employed in the neighborhood of her studio. "Construction Worker V" (2009) is typical in presenting its subject, nearly life-size, as an ordinary hero, laden with tools that symbolize a clutch of skills. "With just a whiff of irony, Allen's portraits evoke socialist realism, offsetting it with reminiscences of Thomas Eakins and Thomas Anschutz. Her canvases come underpainted with orange, which imparts a warmth suited to their late-day light and to her feeling for their subjects."
Kenneth Baker |