John Lear, Untitled (Two Men)

Lear is a virtuoso watercolorist. Here two men construct a Surrealist-styled dwelling or tower made of building parts, fabric, stone, streamers, perhaps a kite, and other materials. The seated figure wears white underpants; the standing figure wears bright green tights. Transparent rectangular forms, like window shades, overlap and frame each figure’s head and torso. The tableau is a dream-like fantasy of men building a life together, but it feels as if the fantasy is as evanescent as a cloud.