Sunset Nude (Light), 2004
Oil on canvas. 77 x 86 in. (195.6 x 218.4 cm). Signed, titled and dated "Tom Wesselmann Sunset Nude (Light) 2004 Wesselmann 04" on the overlap.

PROVENANCE Bernard Jacobsen Gallery, London
EXHIBITED London, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, Tom Wesselmann: New Work, May 25-June 30, 2004
LITERATURE D. Hickey, Tom Wesselmann: New Work, London, 2004, p.19 (illustrated), D. Echer, ed., Tom Wesselmann, Rome, 2005, p. 272 (illustrated)

Redolent with a sensual energy, brimming with the hot house passages of brilliant color and the artist's signature mix of still-life, landscape and the odalisque figure the paintings individually and collectively project a rather glorious farewell. J. Tully, Tom Wesselmann – Sunset Nudes, New York, 2006, n.p. In the tradition of Manet and in the style of Pop-Art, Wesselman presents Sunset Nude (Light), a delectable female figure with sensuous curves and an inviting smile. As the last painting of his Sunset Nudes series, she is both exciting and calming –a yielding vulnerability as she lies in the sun with nipples erect and mouth open against a beautiful seascape. Her erotic body-language is provoking but non-offensive and highlights her femininity with simplified, reductivist shapes and lines. She is sexed-up with ravenous, cartoonish curvature and yet, she is present and aware. This figure-ground reversal (developed as a result of the visual effects of the cut-laser wirks he began in the 1980s) eventually led Wesselmann to the next major shift in the direction of the nudes, which occurred about a decade later in the current figurative series entitled Sunset Nudes.In this series, Wesselmann continues to depict the familiar nude figure, now placed in front of a windowshowing a partial view of the sun, low on the distant horizon. Each of the figures has the same iconic features that highlight the more sensual body parts –lips, nipples, hair. In a movement toward a more abstract overall composition, Wesselmann outlines the body once with a thin line and again with a wide band of flesh tone, leaving a strip of white (negative space) through the torso and the length of each limb. [not so in ours, only through torso & one leg]The resulting wide white lines that intersect Sunset Nudes act as much as abstract compositional elements as signifiers of the contours of the body. Some works in this series remain similar in composition to the earlier nudes, sharing elements such as leg and arm position, frontal face, and nearby flowers. Others emphasize the zigzag pattern of the white lines and consequently venture further away from the early nudes and closer to Wesselmann's pure abstractions. Gradually, the boundaries between Wesselmann's figurative and non-representational works have begun to blur and the differences have become less overt M. Lombino, "Variations on the Nude," Tom Wesselmann: The Intimate Images, Long Beach, 2003 Rather than exploiting the female nude, Wesselman is able to transcend the naked form on display into something pure and refined. The paired-down style and primitivism of the piece highlight the innocence of the girl, a flower in her hair, fruit and palm tree by her side. Her contours are outlined and so are those of the natural setting that becomes part of the surrounding foreground and background. With no eyes, she is lost. Thus, the foliage and fauna become part of her identity. The Sunset Nude Series was the last of the series before Wesselman's death. This piece evokes a subtle knowing of his departure. It is therefore, a culmination of his oeuvre, of his life-long career that spanned the course of over fifty years. It pushes the boundaries of pop-art, solidifying his position as an incredible talent in the sunset of life. What stands out in these last paintings are the artist's unwavering drive to refine and extend his visual vocabulary and launch it in the jet stream of Modern and Post-War painting and sculpture. Though branded as a Pop Artist decades ago and assured of a lofty position in that profile epoch, Wesselmann quietly and deliberately labored far beyond those laurels and explored new territory. These last, palpably fresh and beautifully executed works deliver a fitting swan song. J.Tully, Tom Wesselmann – Sunset Nudes, New York, 2006, n.p.