Untitled #14 from the Horse's Eyes Series
Susan Unterberg American
Not on view
Although Unterberg has explored many subjects, portraiture remains her most reoccurring and essential theme. In the Horse's Eyes series the artist made close-up, strikingly lush color studies of horse eyes that portray, as the artist states, the animals' "intelligence, patience or impatience, calm or rage." The effect makes us keenly aware of our own physiognomy and how, if only briefly, we endeavor to gain access to the soul of individuals from a quick study of their eyes. That is, despite our conscious efforts to do otherwise, it is our nature to attempt to read a book from its cover.