City Night 1954

Jacob Kainen made this painting, City Night, using a limited palette and gestural brushstrokes, almost like he was sketching with paint. Look at the surface; the paint is applied in layers, thin in some areas, thicker in others, creating a sense of depth and texture. The strokes are visible, like the artist was figuring it out as he went along, making marks then responding to them, and the red underpainting peeks through the other colors. See that teal shape in the upper-left? It’s almost calligraphic, like a letter or a symbol, hovering there, ungrounded. This piece feels like a cousin to the work of Joan Mitchell, especially in its use of color and energetic mark-making, but Kainen’s feels more playful. Ultimately, art is about this ongoing conversation. Paintings like this embrace ambiguity, inviting us to bring our own experiences and interpretations to the canvas.