Madam Saluki
In 2016, when the congestion and lack of nature in New York City started overwhelming me, I took my first trip to New Mexico. I wanted to determine if the desert might be my next home after New York. I found a fun little vintage trailer to stay in for a few days while I explored Northern New Mexico, near Taos. First to greet me, sauntering out of the trailer, towering, like a weightless horse, was an unearthly Saluki. She stared, unwavering, in my direction with an all-knowing air. Her eyes said “I’m just in a dog body right now, but don’t be fooled, I understand everything, and I’m just undercover.”
What I love about this painting is how Saluki sits for her portrait like a woman of royal birth, the black sheepskin billowing like a feather boa. Her long supermodel limbs drape over the edge of the sofa, and the painted texture of her furry paws echo the texture throughout the black fur that frames her. Her tan coat matches the tan vintage sofa. I carved the black paint into deep grooves, so the original catches light in different ways all day. Working without brushes, using only my fingers, I petted this painting to life.
For me, this painting is about recognizing how animals are more similar to us than they are different. They have unbelievably deep internal thoughts, more aware than we could possibly imagine. In 2019, this painting was exhibited in a gallery in Chelsea, NYC and was positively reviewed by Pulitzer-prize winning art critic Jerry Saltz.
Title: "Madam Saluki” by Iris Scott
Year: 2019
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 46x80 inches. Canvas depth - 2-1/4 inches. The sides of the canvas are painted as a wrap-around continuation of the painting. Arrives ready to hang.
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It was a great thrill to have American art critic Jerry Saltz pay us a visit yesterday evening. Since 2006 Jerry has been senior art critic for New York Magazine. He was formerly the senior art critic for The Village Voice. He received the Pulitzer Prizes award for Criticism in 2018.
Upon entering the gallery he walked right over to Iris Scott's portrait of Madame Saluki and gave us one of his coveted Thumbs Up!
It was a wonderful experience to spend some unexpected quality time with him and introduce him to and even let him touch Iris's work.
Thanks, Jerry, for all that you do and all you inspire others to be and create!
We know her future owner, likely someone with some Saluki's at home, is just waiting to find her!
THIS ORIGINAL IS AVAILABLE
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