Signs, symbols, and icons that have become the visual shorthand of our fast-paced lives are the subject of British artist Alistair Frost’s paintings. In this colorful diptych, a pair of geometric dresses in hard-edged washes of pink and yellow are stand-ins for woman or feminine. Though the work uses a minimum amount of visual information, the connotations of the long-sleeved dress are instantly clear for any viewer. Like any reductive symbol, however, the dress teeters on the verge of abstraction, hanging in an odd gray area between recognition and mystery.
Alistair Frost
Y AND M
2011
oil on linen
31 1/2 x 13 5/8 inches each