Portuguese-born artist Paula Rego (b. 1935) studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, London. She lives in the UK.
Quotable saying: “Doing work, that is to say, drawing, is an erotic activity.”
Anna Russell writes that the urgency of Rego’s work “in all its savage, tactile vitality” is keenly apparent in her large pastel portraits.
After years of collage, oil paint, and acrylic, switching to pastel was a revelation. (She has called the stick “fiercer, much more aggressive” than the brush.)
(Anna Russell, “The Fury and Mischief of Paula Rego,” The New Yorker, 7-7-21)
I’m intrigued by the skewed angles in both paintings; the prominence of the sofa in “Possession I”; that of weirdly inexplicable objects and detail in “The Pillowman.” Is the latter a surreal takeoff on descent from the cross?
(c) 2021 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
EthicalDative 
What an interesting artist – I agree with you about the skewed angles that create a slightly discomforting feeling. It’s also interesting to see pastels being used like this.
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Yes, I find a chilling aspect to her work as well. It’s forceful, if that’s a good word for it! Thanks for your comment!
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I think Plato said the same thing… which he would have banned in his republic.
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i.e., art, which he regarded as a sensual activity
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Thanks for this comment. I’m pleased that you have taken a look. I think the one dialogue I’ve read is the “Phaedrus” (?), but that’s from the antiquity of college.
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