Nancy (To Ray)
Artist
Juliao Sarmento
(Portuguese, 1948 - 2021)
Date1999
MediumPaint and gesso on unprimed canvas with graphite
DimensionsOverall: 15 x 17 5/8in. (38.1 x 44.8cm)
ClassificationsPAINTINGS
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number2000.18
On View
On viewCollections
Copyright© Juliao Sarmento
Label TextUpdated Version:
Julião Sarmento here borrowed the title and two lines of text from Raymond Carver’s short story, I Could See the Smallest Things. The tale is narrated by a woman named Nancy. She is sleepless on a moonlit night that is so bright she can see the smallest things, “the clothespins on the line, for instance.” Nancy ventures outside to latch the open gate in her yard and meets her neighbor, with whom her husband has had a falling out. In their brief conversation about seemingly ordinary things, Carver introduces themes about trust, loyalty, friendship, and marriage.
Interestingly, Sarmento does not illustrate the story in the traditional way, with pictures. He retains the author’s words to examine creativity and painting. In this work, Sarmento uses the drawing medium of graphite over the painted surface of the canvas, which is an inversion of the traditional process of drawing in preparation for painting.
Mary E. Murray
Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
For this painting, Julião Sarmento borrowed the title and two lines of text from Raymond Carver's short story, I Could See the Smallest Things. The story is narrated by Nancy, a woman who is sleepless on a moonlit night that is so bright she can see the smallest things, "the clothespins on the line, for instance." Nancy ventures outside to latch the open gate in her yard and meets her neighbor, with whom her husband has had a falling out. In their brief conversation about seemingly ordinary things, Carver introduces themes about trust, loyalty, friendship, and marriage.
In addition to its emotional content, Sarmento's work examines creativity and painting. He often includes references to looking and seeing, as he does in Nancy (to Ray). Moreover, in this work, Sarmento uses the drawing medium of graphite over the painted surface of the canvas, which is an inversion of the traditional process of drawing in preparation for painting.
MEM
For this painting, Julião Sarmento borrowed the title and two lines of text from Raymond Carver's short story, I Could See the Smallest Things. The story is narrated by Nancy, a woman who is sleepless on a moonlit night that is so bright she can see the smallest things, "the clothespins on the line, for instance." Nancy ventures outside to latch the open gate in her yard and meets her neighbor, with whom her husband has had a falling out. In their brief conversation about seemingly ordinary things, Carver introduces themes about trust, loyalty, friendship, and marriage.
Interestingly, Sarmento does not illustrate the story in the traditional way, with pictures. He retains the author's words to examine creativity and painting. Sarmento often includes references to looking and seeing, as he does in Nancy (To Ray). Moreover, in this work, Sarmento uses the drawing medium of graphite over the painted surface of the canvas, which is an inversion of the traditional process of drawing in preparation for painting.
MEM
2002
