Married couple 2020

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this painting, Married Couple, using ink, and the date is unconfirmed. It feels like a single breath held and released. The ink is dripped and pooled. The figures are gestural, like calligraphy, so the process is plain to see. There's a real joy in the materiality of the ink. It is allowed to move freely, it's dark, and then grey, and almost nothing. There are these incredibly fine lines, flicks of the wrist, and next to that, great big splodges. Look at the base of the 'trees' - they spread out like roots. You can see the evidence of the artist's hand here, the pressure they applied to the brush, the speed of the mark. It reminds me of Brice Marden's calligraphic paintings, and how he makes you feel the movement of his body, his presence, in the work. This piece feels like a dialogue, an embrace, an argument, a dance. Nothing is resolved, and everything is open.