Llyn Foulkes: Narrative Tableaux Paintings

In the early 1980s, Foulkes began to experiment with dimensionality and started to develop the surface of his works even further, building them out but also pushing back to create an illusion of depth. Each of his first three narrative tableaux—Made in Hollywood, The Last Outpost, and O’Pablo (all 1983)—presents a scenario with a cast of zany characters and a full production with props and a backdrop. Marking a significant shift in his working method, Foulkes expanded his use of found objects in these paintings, employing bits of fabric, cotton, and road signs, along with reclaimed wood. Mixing real objects with painted images, he aimed to make pictures in which the real and the surreal became equalized. With these tableaux works, Foulkes ventured into unexplored territory, inventing a language that offered him an entirely new mode of expression.

"LLYN FOULKES" is on view through September 1.

Images: Installation views, "LLYN FOULKES" at New Museum. Courtesy New Museum, New York. Photo: Benoit Pailley