Nuit sur la Lagune 1955

Charles Lapicque made this painting, "Nuit sur la Lagune," and it looks like he was juggling a bunch of colourful balls in his mind while he made it. The colours are playful and a little off-kilter, like a dream you can't quite grasp. Look at how thick and juicy the paint is! You can almost feel the texture; it's not trying to hide anything. Lapicque isn’t trying to trick us into thinking this is real, he revels in paint's materiality. My eyes keep getting drawn to the little green frog, he seems so out of place and yet, he holds the whole thing together. He's like the unexpected punchline in a visual joke. Lapicque reminds me of Raoul Dufy, both had this incredible knack for making paintings that feel light and airy, even when they are packed with colour. Ultimately, art is about conversations. It's an open-ended invitation to see and feel things in new ways.