TOTAL ECLIPSE II 2013

Rashid Al Khalifa made TOTAL ECLIPSE II, and the first thing I see is this mesh of lines. It’s like he’s making a screen or a veil, a kind of atmospheric space. I imagine Al Khalifa, methodically layering these drips, building up a surface that flickers between order and chaos. What’s he thinking as the paint moves? Is it about control, or is it about letting go and seeing where the material takes him? The color palette is earthy. That black circle just sits there, like a void. It reminds me of other painters who are interested in the grid, like Agnes Martin, but with this added element of chance and fluidity. You see, artists are always in conversation with each other across time. We're all pinging ideas back and forth, riffing off what came before and seeing where we can take it. Each brushstroke, each decision, is a way of figuring out what we think and feel.