Stalk Talk 2007

Here's Claude Lawrence's painting on paper, using what looks like acrylic or maybe gouache, called "Stalk Talk". I wonder what it was like for him, approaching this blank surface with these ochre yellows and thick black lines. Did he begin with the stalks on the left, or did the amorphous blob on the right come first? To me it feels like a process of intuitive making, adding and subtracting until the composition reveals itself. There's something primal and intuitive about the way he lays down these colours. I love how the strokes are so bold and expressive, and how the yellow almost vibrates against the black. It reminds me of the work of other painters like Philip Guston, who also embraced a kind of raw, gestural approach to painting. Ultimately, I think “Stalk Talk” is about embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings to emerge over time.