Go figure

Anyone who’s ever taken a figure-drawing class, or any kind of life-drawing exercise, knows how hard it can be. The seemingly simple task of recording the human form in such a way as to make it appear natural and accurate can be painful. Wearing away the paper with your eraser, only to place new, incorrect marks over the previous ones, makes you want to pull your hair out. It’s much harder than you’d think. This month, the Solomon Dubnick Gallery features an artist, Jian Wang, who has made a lifelong career of studying the human body, and his paintings and drawings not only record the form well but also capture light and the life of the subject. The paint is rich and fluid; it gives each piece the stamp of Wang’s vibrant style. And if his mastery of capturing the figure on a two-dimensional surface isn’t enough, Wang also is exhibiting his bronze sculptures. Solomon Dubnick is located at 2131 Northrop Avenue and is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.