The artwork titled “Swimming, Smoking, Crying,” created by Dana Schutz in 2009, belongs to the Neo-Expressionism art movement and is classified as genre painting. The artwork exemplifies Schutz’s distinctive style and thematic focus within the broader domain of modern and contemporary art.
In the artwork, a vividly rendered figure dominates the canvas, with its face partially submerged in water. The subject, with hair splayed around and a cigarette in hand, exhibits exaggerated features typical of Neo-Expressionist works. The rich, overlapping splashes of color and dynamic brushstrokes convey intense emotion, emphasized by the tear emerging from the figure’s eye. The melancholic ambiance, paired with the act of smoking while swimming, presents a complex interplay of actions that evoke deeper psychological and emotional undertones, elements that are characteristic of genre painting. The juxtaposition of vibrant and somber tones, as well as the surreal presentation of the figure, invites viewers to contemplate the layered sentiments of the human condition.
