The Chase

In 1990 Rothenberg moved with her husband, Bruce Nauman, from New York to a New Mexico ranch, and this new environment has inspired the work of both artists. Rothenberg is a singular voice in contemporary art because of her emphatically physical approach to painting and her consistent reliance on imagery. "Without subject matter there is no me; there is no painting," she has said. The Chase - one of Rothenberg's most abstract and lavishly painted compositions to date - depicts animals frantically pursuing or desperately escaping each other. The artist has made the reckless energy and the heat of the chase palpable through her choice of color and application of paint.