Rather than paint sitters in her studio, Joffe often creates portraits of women at a deliberate remove—from photographs, magazines, or videos. This one was made via computer screen from a live video chat on Skype. The subject, actress Jessica Chastain, is admired for how she “disappears” into her diverse roles. In content and in process, Joffe’s portrait captures not a direct or definitive likeness, but a slightly awkward, distant moment through the immediacy of wet paint.

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