Four Jockeys 1974

LeRoy Neiman made this crazy image of four jockeys, probably sometime in the late 20th century, and it looks like he used a printmaking process with lots of layers. The colors are wild – blues, reds, greens – all jumbled together like a party in a paint factory! There’s something wonderfully chaotic about the way Neiman applies the ink. You can see how the textures overlap and bleed into each other, almost like he’s not trying to control it too much. The brush marks feel spontaneous, capturing the energy of the racetrack without getting bogged down in details. The jockey's outfits with their spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs have these dark, spiky shapes, like playing cards thrown in the air. They bring such a graphic punch to the whole scene. Neiman’s work reminds me a little bit of someone like Joan Mitchell, in the way he lets the colors and marks collide with each other. Ultimately, this piece isn’t about precise representation; it’s about capturing a feeling, a moment, a burst of pure, unadulterated energy.