“Duchess,’’ taken in the vein of traditional paintings of aristocrats, is a horrible sight. Her skin is bright pink and fuchsia smeared with white, her blue eyelashes thick as centipedes, and her mouth a black hole. “Bully,’’ on the other hand, has a small, pursed mouth. His eyes are framed in finger-thick squirts of red and orange paint and his noise is a void. He’s the one in the crocheted veil. The duchess is garish; the bully is more delicate.
There are many portraits in this show. Only some question social expectations. I had to wonder if Wheat threw herself into painting this rogues gallery, then came up with the idea of class critique.
She carries it off perfectly, though, in an ambitious sculptural installation, “Luncheon on the Hill,’’ made to echo Édouard Manet’s iconic “Le déjeuner sur l’herbe.’’ Manet’s painting scandalized the public when he first showed it nearly 150 years ago, because it showed a nude woman picnicking with two clothed men. It has since been quoted often, most notably by Picasso.
Wheat’s version is a riot. The trio sits on a mound of dirt, indulging in spaghetti and meatballs, a bowlful of melted ice cream and bananas, and more. They have outsize hands and monstrous faces. The pop-eyed nude wears an ornate hat. Using just a few signals of posture and gesture, the artist imbues this vulgar group with gentility, smashing high with low into a delicious, unnerving pulp.
Vitality and strength
John Goodman’s grainy, black-and-white photographs at Howard Yezerski Gallery emphasize motion and form. They convey a masculine sensibility, and a melancholy one; they celebrate vitality and strength, and grieve its short stay. The show, organized by curator Bonnell Robinson, visits several bodies of work, including photos of a Times Square boxing gym, Boston Ballet dancers, people in the streets of Havana, and more.
