Jacqueline de Jong, Le blouson très noir et ses femmes (The very black jacket and his women) (1964)
Presented by Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London
In Jacqueline de Jong’s Le blouson très noir et ses femmes (1964), a grotesque and leering red-eyed creature spreads across the canvas, its blue tongue lolling out over yellow teeth. For all its ghastliness, at least it’s well-dressed, with a purple watch on its wrist and smart brown shoes on its feet. While it almost entirely fills the frame, the monster has company: Flanking his sides are two women with wandering breasts, smeared red lipstick, and one tawdry tutu. An early work by the Dutch artist, the painting is characteristic of de Jong’s bold, gestural brushwork and boundary-pushing subject matter.
