Kanton 1966

Friedel Dzubas made Kanton with paint on canvas, and looking at it, I imagine a kind of layering, almost like the strata in geology. The colors here – reds, purples, blues, greens, set against a muted ground – they aren’t just sitting pretty; they’re working. I get a sense that Dzubas was really pushing paint around, figuring out how these shapes could balance and speak to each other. What was he thinking as he laid down that bold red form, or that sliver of yellow underneath? It's not hyper-real, you know? It’s more like a feeling, an atmosphere conjured through color and form. Dzubas makes me think about other color field painters, like Helen Frankenthaler, but with his own distinct voice. It’s like they're all in this ongoing conversation, bouncing ideas off each other, seeing what paint can do. For me, this piece invites slow looking, and a little bit of dreaming.