Shoulder check

In Schulterblick, Jen Weissenbacher condenses her exploration of the nature of the gaze into a moment of maximum tension. The depiction of a gorilla—monumental in its detail, direct in its expression dispenses with any setting, any narrative. What remains is presence.

 

The composition breaks with classic animal portraits: The gorilla does not turn toward the viewer, but rather looks back over his shoulder – alert, suspicious, perhaps hurt. The emotional power of the work lies in this space between withdrawal and confrontation.

 

The color palette – an orchestrated interplay of deep violet, bright cyan, and fiery orange – creates an inner glow that seems to burn beneath the surface. The fur is not just painted, but structured like a topographical map – each stroke follows a rhythm that appears organic yet abstract.

 

Formally, the work oscillates between realism and magical pop – between controlled observation of nature and emotional exaggeration. The gorilla is not presented here as an animal, but as the bearer of a posture: pausing, sensing, seeing – without fully revealing itself.