Gouache Brulée 1970

Bernard Aubertin made this gouache – it’s called ‘Brulée’ – which means burnt, using gouache and fire. Just imagine Aubertin working on this, that dense, rich red gouache, laid down as a square, even, and then the drama of the burn begins! I love the contrast between the careful, considered application of paint and then this moment of wild abandon. It's like, he made it and then he broke it! The creamy white support revealed beneath the charred edges makes me think about the raw potential beneath the surface. It’s such a simple gesture but the connotations of this image, of burning, are endless: rage, passion, destruction, rebirth – a cycle of constant change. I guess artists have been exploring that tension between creation and destruction forever. It’s all there in this work.