This is a pretty good example of a painting that comes across as inaccessible.
I believe harmony is established through stroke width and extremes of color
purity. Stark contrasts are made with the different colors and
varying stroke directions (meandering, perpendicular). Most of the pigment
looks as if it were applied unmixed directly from the source, a glaring
weakness in this work. |
The elements used to create this painting are the subject; nothing is
recognizable beyond smears of pigment that gravitate into a somewhat solid mass
of themselves. They seem to imply a sense of gravity, volume and swirling
motion. Color and line are inseparable components of a single visual whole. A single
mass is created through horizontal (to the upper portion of the mass), vertical
(toward the bottom) and swirling stroke directions. A combination of pure and
dense colors carry more of the workload in creating the sense of mass toward
the center of the picture plane. The dense and muddy hues shape the body while
the lighter colors create what could be described as highlights. If this work
has a color scheme, it is built on a blue/orange complementary one.
It is clear that key does not establish pigment application chronology. Even so,
the denser colors, huddled more toward the mass’ center, seem to sink in
further than the lighter ones. I would argue this work exhibits approximate symmetry
and a sense of pictorial energy. This tension is caused by the implied swirling
movement of the strokes that create the mass, which seems suspended in space.
Generous application of pigment dominates, but there are notable areas of
negative space where trace amounts of pigment were used. Further contrasts are
built through color temperature, color purity, stroke direction and the global
light-dark-light vertical value structure of the entire picture plane.
Consistent application of pigment throughout builds a pleasing, organic sense
of texture. Stroke width, "directionality", and overall style serve to harmonize
this work.
Minimal attention is paid to the upper and lower thirds of the canvas; all
energy and movement is centered in the middle third. There, thick values
provide the backdrop for the strongly contrasting slight, high-key values to
shine against. The picture edge is used in a contradictory manner. A few strokes are cropped
by it, bringing attention to the only mathematically rigid edges in the entire
work. However, it is clear that the mass is a fixed width and height, resulting
in an impression that the picture frame’s dimensions are in error.
A combination of balance and contrast characteristic of elementally unified
works is present. A major strength of this work is to show how related and
starkly contrasting colors can be related with intermediate muddy or neutral
colors or values. 
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