Jade Thacker
Lucky, 2022
Oil on canvas
72 x 60 inches
Photo: Gene Ogami.
Painter Jade Thacker’s style is often characterized by muti-layered scenes that break apart the bodies of the figures within them in a way that is reminiscent of Cubist and Surrealist...
Painter Jade Thacker’s style is often characterized by muti-layered scenes that break apart the bodies of the figures within them in a way that is reminiscent of Cubist and Surrealist practice. There is a mysterious quality to Thacker’s works brought about by the duality of revealing and concealing that she constructs. In this vivid red-orange and yellow work entitled Lucky, Thacker constructs an intriguing world full of bold shapes and characters that draw us in for a closer look. Superficially, the painting juxtaposes two images onto the canvas: one, a figure wearing a simple dress and smiling while serving coffee, and two, more focused and less emotional face in the center of the work. A left arm rests upon a table with an ambiguously closed hand. When seeing the work, one immediately wonders who the first figure is serving, and what the relationship is between the two individuals. Perhaps the first woman is serving coffee to herself, or perhaps she is serving coffee to patrons at a table the viewer cannot see. Perhaps the head protruding from the abdomen of the server is the server’s hidden self, her internal dialogue. This figure’s expression, like the clenched fist, conveys a resolute determination to succeed in life, and, perhaps to succeed in a different profession ⎯ maybe that of an artist. Note the “lucky” number seven that appears on the top right of the painting slicing across the central figure’s face. Luck is also needed to achieve one’s dreams. Thacker is represented by Kravets Wehby Gallery.