Fire 1982

Here's Francesco Clemente now, with his watercolor called Fire. I imagine him making this, the paper flat on a table, the brush wet and juicy. It's all about the flow and the way the colors bloom. I see so much vulnerability here. The closed eyes, the bright red lips and cheeks, the little sprigs of green, like new growth or maybe something more painful. It's a face, but it's also a landscape of feeling. The yellow turns almost feverish around the edges, as if the figure is radiating heat. Clemente always struck me as someone really unafraid to be in touch with his emotions. He's part of this ongoing conversation that painters have, reaching back to expressionism and forward into something totally his own. It's not about answers; it's about staying open to the questions.