#11: El Agave (Agave) 2008

Marina Pallares made this little agave plant using black and white paint. It’s a small painting; you could hold it in your hand. You know, sometimes, I think about what it must be like for an artist when they’re wrestling with an image. I wonder if Marina mixed her colors carefully, or splashed them on with abandon! There’s something so alive and energetic in these gestures. See how she varies the marks to make fronds? Some are soft, others are jagged, and that makes the plant feel real. I love the little frilly bits, and how the artist varies the line. It’s a constant back and forth, a dance between intention and accident. When I look at this painting, I don’t just see an agave; I feel the artist’s presence, her touch, her way of seeing the world. It reminds me of all the ways artists speak to each other, using the language of paint to share their visions and insights. It is a way to embrace ambiguity and uncertainty, so there are multiple interpretations.