Another Country 2015

Joshua Flint, born in 1977, painted this scene, "Another Country," and you can almost feel the punches landing. The canvas comes alive with these earthy, subdued tones—browns, grays, and creams—and it feels like it's all been built up layer by layer, decision by decision. I like to think about how he built up this surface, what it was like to be him in that studio grappling with each stroke. The paint looks kind of thin, and there is an atmospheric quality to the painting. Look at the figures at the bottom of the painting, they are just quickly scrawled. It seems like Flint wanted to capture a feeling, a memory, more than a perfect image. There is a certain timeless quality to this painting, and echoes other painters who've tried to pin down the chaos and beauty of life. Art is never really made in isolation. There is an ongoing conversation between artists across time, inspiring one another to see and feel a bit deeper.