I Would Be - Virginia Cohn Parkum, c. Unknown

In I Would Be, Virginia Cohn Parkum presents the human figure as an apparition suspended between emergence and dissolution. The body is rendered in sweeping strokes of pale flesh tones and translucent whites that seem to hover within a radiant field of yellow. Arms extend laterally, suggesting both openness and exposure, while the head, barely articulated, dissolves into the surrounding light. The figure appears less constructed than revealed, as though it is being formed in the act of painting.

The chromatic structure of the work establishes its expressive core. Saturated yellows dominate the ground, generating a luminous atmosphere that evokes illumination, heat, and spiritual radiance. Against this field, passages of red and coral bleed through the torso and lower body, introducing a visceral register that recalls flesh, vulnerability, and the physical cost of existence. Cooler gray and pale blue strokes along one side interrupt the warmth, creating a countercurrent that tempers the intensity and introduces tonal ambiguity.

Parkum’s brushwork remains visible and uncorrected, preserving the immediacy of gesture. Broad strokes define the torso and limbs, while thinner, searching lines articulate edges that are never fully resolved. Paint is dragged, lifted, and layered, allowing the surface to record hesitation and revision. This process-oriented handling suggests a body in flux rather than a fixed anatomical presence.

The outstretched pose invites multiple readings. It may recall cruciform imagery, invoking sacrifice and transcendence, yet it also suggests surrender, openness, or a moment of transformation. The absence of environmental detail situates the figure in an indeterminate space, shifting the focus from narrative context to existential condition. The body becomes a site of passage — between suffering and illumination, material weight and spiritual release.

Within Parkum’s broader body of work, often marked by fractured figures and psychological tension, I Would Be reads as a moment of suspension rather than rupture. The figure does not collapse; it holds itself within light. The painting offers no definitive resolution, but instead presents a threshold state — a body poised between endurance and becoming, held in the charged space between what is and what might be.