El Leton, Flamenco Guitarist 1978

Frank Mason painted El Leton, Flamenco Guitarist, sometime in the 20th century, most likely with oils. The darkness here is so luscious; the guitarist emerges from a sea of black, and it’s all about how the marks catch the light. I love the way Mason uses these dabs and strokes of paint to create form. Look at the guitarist’s hand strumming the instrument, how the light falls on his ring. It’s almost as if the music is materializing out of the darkness, a tangible thing made of texture and tone. The way the paint is applied is almost sculptural, building up layers of light and shadow. You can almost feel the energy of the flamenco in the painting's surface. It reminds me a little of Velázquez, with that same sense of drama and intensity, but also of Philip Guston and the way he would build his forms out of simple marks and gestures. It’s like a conversation across time, each artist riffing off the others, searching for something new in the language of paint.