These two portraits engage in a compelling visual dialogue while maintaining their distinct emotional resonances. Together, they demonstrate the artist's exploration of human essence through abstraction and texture.
Portrait - Study of a Lady's Head I presents itself as an exercise in emotional vulnerability. The distinctive use of salmon pinks against deep blacks creates a tension that speaks to the delicate balance between revelation and concealment. The impasto technique here is particularly effective in building a sense of psychological depth, with each layer of paint seeming to peel back another layer of human experience. What makes this piece particularly impactful is its ability to maintain recognizable human features while pushing deep into abstraction – the eye becomes an anchor point from which the rest of the composition seems to flow and fragment.
Portrait - Study of Lady's Head I. Oil on canvas. 30x22. 2019.
Portrait - Study of a Lady's Head II shifts the emotional register dramatically through its bold incorporation of golden ochres and deep earth tones. Where the first portrait seems to emerge from shadow, this piece radiates an internal luminosity that suggests transformation or revelation. The most engaging aspect of this second study is its dramatic diagonal composition, anchored by that striking touch of blue at the bottom – a cool counterpoint to the warm tones that dominate the piece. The aggressive texturing here feels more decisive, more declarative than its companion piece.
Portrait - Study of Lady's Head II. Oil on canvas. 30x22. 2019.Portrait - Study of Lady's Head I. Oil on canvas. 30x22. 2019.
Together, these works create a fascinating study in duality – not just in their paired presentation, but in how they approach the human subject. They demonstrate how abstract portraiture can capture something more truthful about human nature than pure representation ever could. The textural qualities of both pieces demand in-person viewing, where viewers can fully appreciate how light plays across their sculptural surfaces.
see more works here: https://www.jeffreymillett.com/archive-jeffrey-millett
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