Le Baisé (N23) – Oil on canvas, Jack Gage

Jack Gage is a contemporary American artist renowned for his work with textures, geometric patterns and the re-appropriation of the great classics of art history through a resolutely modern graphic aesthetic. This oil on canvas offers a Pop-Surrealist reinterpretation of Auguste Rodin’s famous sculpture ‘The Kiss’, in which a couple locked in a passionate embrace is entirely covered in a red and white chequered pattern. Applied like a second skin, this geometric pattern follows the curves of the figures’ bodies to create a striking optical effect that accentuates their volume and dynamism, whilst the earthy red monochrome background lends a warm depth to the scene. The work, presented on an unframed stretched canvas, is signed by the artist in the bottom right-hand corner.