The Fencers 2016

Alaa Awad made this painting, "The Fencers," with confident strokes of pigment, mostly blues, reds, and yellows. I imagine Awad working quickly, pushing the paint across the canvas to capture the scene. The artist bravely renders the figures, but the legs of the horses are rendered in a very loose, gestural style, with strokes of orange and blue defining their forms. I wonder what Awad was thinking, simplifying the figures and yet giving enough information to suggest the context of the scene. Maybe she was channeling the energy of the moment, the speed and tension of a competition? It is a conversation between the artist, her subject, and her materials, a constant give-and-take where the final image is a record of that creative exchange. Every artist borrows and builds upon the work of those who came before, engaging in a continuous dialogue across time. With the work of Alaa Awad we are reminded that painting is an expression, and one that encourages us to consider diverse viewpoints.