Anarchic Energy 1939

Conroy Maddox created this painting called ‘Anarchic Energy’ with watercolor and gouache. I can just imagine Maddox building up these forms, layer by layer, with total certainty and then with total revision. A push and pull, back and forth, from intention to intuition. Look at how he orchestrates the shapes in a semi-transparent way, butting color up against color to create a real sense of depth. It’s a dance of colors that could topple at any moment, but somehow holds together. I see Maddox, brush in hand, working fast, really fast, trying to capture a feeling, a vibe, before it disappears. Maybe he was thinking about other Surrealists at the time, like Max Ernst or Yves Tanguy. Maybe they gave him the license to be free and to play. I can feel the physicality of the gesture. Painters are always having a conversation with other painters. This to-and-fro across time allows for multiple readings that embrace ambiguity and uncertainty. It's like a big, messy, beautiful conversation that never ends.