Eve and Adam Still Looking for Christmas

Dial objectifies common symbols with uncommon fluidity. Like many American artists, he is fond of the Stars and Stripes. He adopts the fag in multivalent fashion; in a work such as Eve and Adam Still Looking for Christmas, the patriotic colors embody Christmas trees. The iconography here, contrasting a whiff of capitalist corruption with the sacred model of original innocence, could hardly be more sophisticated. Its twisting, writhing composition, combining rich decorativeness with a dark, even bleak, surround, is compelling at first glance. His titling both elucidates and obfuscates the artist’s intent.