Introspective Moments

In this month’s Focus Series, The Office of University Art Collections presents two works. An oil painting by Joe Lasker and a polymer/tempera painting by Darell Koons.

Joe Lasker, American (1919-2015), Yucatan Holiday, 1962, Oil on canvas

Joe Lasker was an American painter, born in 1919, and was known for stylized scenes featuring human figures and storytelling. He often balanced between realism and abstraction as his works incorporated desaturated and soft color palettes depicting introspective moments. Yucatan Holiday is a scene that shows the artist’s wife in bed and his son Evan, during their first family trip to Mexico in 1962. The blue color palette adds a melancholy tone to the work.

Darell Koons, American (1924-2016), Sunday Morning, 1963, Polymer and tempera on panel

Darel Koons, an American painter born in 1924, was known for depicting country scenes. He used realism and magical realism in his works, and said himself that Edward Hopper was a great influence on him as an artist. Sunday Morning, depicts an older building, perhaps a general store, in a deserted rural area. There aren’t any figures shown in the scene, which leaves the possibility open that the building itself might be abandoned. The colors are cooler toned, but very muted, creating an eerie feeling to this work reminiscent of many of Hopper’s works.

Though these works involve two different subject matters, the desaturated blue tones in both of these make them eerie and melancholy, that creates a deeper meaning than simply a realistic depiction of these scenes. This being said, they both take very different approaches to creating this type of atmosphere. Lasker’s work has a very intimate setting, and the way the scene is angled invites the viewer inside of the work and into that moment with the subject. Koons simply depicts a building in a scene as if you happened upon it in the street. To create a moody atmosphere, he relies on the color palette, and the unsettling feeling that settles over the viewer when looking at this work, which is not a personal feeling compared to the Lasker work. Their approaches to composition and atmosphere set them apart, but both create emotionally resonant and thoughtful imagery.

Curated by Caroline Helmer (‘26), Art History

The FOCUS series features one artwork per month from the Wake Forest University Art Collections. Reflections from students, faculty, staff and alumni are encouraged. To include your voice in the dialogue, contact artcollections@wfu.edu.

Joe Lasker, Mark H. Reece Collection of Student-Acquired Contemporary Art, CU1969.18.1

Darell Koons, Mark H. Reece Collection of Student-Acquired Contemporary Art, CU1965.9.1

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