Fragment of Wall Decoration c. 1940

This Fragment of Wall Decoration by Michael Lauretano presents two blocks of earthy colour and gestural marks on paper. Imagine him layering washes of colour, letting them pool and blend, creating a kind of atmospheric depth with a limited palette. I wonder, was he trying to capture the light of a room? Maybe he was just playing with the fluidity of paint, letting his intuition guide the brush. The lower block looks to me like silver-grey swirls dancing across the canvas. It reminds me of Cy Twombly or maybe even the Abstract Expressionists and their interest in the subconscious, but there is something quieter going on here. There’s a conversation happening across time, where each artist responds to, and reinvents, the language of painting. And I guess, for me, that’s what makes painting so exciting: its potential to open up new ways of seeing, feeling, and thinking.