Art Analysis: 'Terciopelo' By Fabian Perez

The painting I am writing about is called ‘Terciopelo’ by Fabian Perez. Terciopelo means velvet in Spanish.

Fabian Perez is an artist who was born in 1967 in Buenos Aires who now lives in Los Angeles. He paints in oil and more often than not the subjects of his paintings are based on the memories he has from growing up of the brothels and nightclubs his father owned.

The painting ‘Terciopelo’ is a typical example of Fabian Perez’s work as the subject, like many of his other paintings, is a dancer featured on a dark background. The subject will be significant to Perez as it is a memory from his childhood, therefore making it a relic. This makes the painting particularly interesting as most people cannot relate to having this as a childhood memory, it also means we are seeing an ‘adult’ subject from a child’s point of view. In

The eye is also drawn to the flower in her hair as it is the only bright colour in the picture. Because she is dancing her arms are in an unnatural position meaning there are shapes such as triangles in the composition particularly where her left arm is raised. As you look at the painting the view point makes it look like we are below the dancer, his could again be reference to Perez’s childhood as he would have been much shorter at the time so looking upwards at the woman. There are not very many lines in the picture as more often than not the use of light and dark is describing shape. The lack of lines is particularly prominent in the dress as it is all one colour, this means that it is difficult to distinguish between the woman’s breast and her arm and you have to use your instinct to understand how she is standing. As her arms are spread you are encouraged to look at the whole painting from top to