Where are you looking at? 2013

Jose Higuera made this painting, Where Are You Looking At?, and its generous size lets you really sink into it. The way the paint is layered, soft but certain, makes me think about how art is really just a conversation with the materials at hand. Look at the background. Higuera seems to have swirled the paint, creating depth and a warm glow that suggests both a place and a feeling. The strokes aren't trying to hide themselves. The mark-making is confident but relaxed, like a slow dance with the canvas. There’s an intensity to the light in the painting, almost Baroque, that reminds me of some of Caravaggio’s more tender portraits, even though the subject is totally different. "Where Are You Looking At?" feels like a memory, or a dream you can almost touch. It's a reminder that painting, at its best, is about sharing a way of seeing and feeling the world that words can't quite capture.