At first blush, the recent, photorealistic paintings of Los Angeles-based Jewish artist Robert Russell look inviting, almost sweet. A lamb turns its head to look back over its shoulder in one, and in another, a crouching dog looks to the right, wide-eyed.
But all is not well in these enormous pictures.
“Until they were liberated in 1945, these prisoners, living in unimaginable circumstances, created figurines of such things as puppies, sheep, rabbits and perfect Aryan children,” according to the gallery.
“Russell places these subjects against vacant horizonless backdrops; the result is compositions that are hauntingly still and breathless,” it added. “On the surface, the beautiful imagery provides viewers with the opportunity for quiet reflection, while the reality of their origin turns thoughts to the nature of evil.”