Koi Polloi by Brooke Borcherding

Borcherding's *Koi Polloi* presents a densely layered composition executed in oil on canvas. The work demonstrates a technical engagement with the medium's capacity for both gestural mark-making and deliberate form-building. The title suggests a wordplay between the aquatic subject and classical reference, positioning the work within a lineage of still-life painting while complicating its conventions. Through accumulated brushwork and chromatic density, the painting constructs a visual field that resists easy legibility, requiring sustained attention. The interplay between representational suggestion and abstracted surface activates the work's formal concerns, establishing a dialogue between figuration and painterly process inherent to contemporary practice.