Verses After Dusk

"The enigmatic subjects of Lynette's portraits appear to exist outside time and space, yet manage at the same time to reference a history of Western painting. There is so much more to see in her multi-dimensional work than immediately meets the eye." – Julia Peyton-Jones, Director, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Serpentine Galleries. The more you look at Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's figurative paintings, the more you can see the deep, intimate and constant dialogue she has with how to paint. Each piece feels almost like an exquisite doodle – not at all because they are rushed and bad – but because there is so clearly a genuine compulsiveness behind each one. It somehow makes so much sense that they are each done at once, in one day and  that each of the subjects are fictional, looking at them feels as though you are engaging with a moment of complete mental clarity and a conversation is inevitable. But it is Yiadom-Boakye's technique and skill that brings her work back from just being sketches – each technique, composition and overall variety anchors her ideas and imagination within each piece back to the viewer. Serpentine Gallery Until 13 September www.serpentinegalleries.org