Rhino 2006

LeRoy Neiman made this image of a rhino with bright swipes of paint, like he was wrestling with color right there on the surface. Imagine him, stepping back, squinting, then lunging in with another dab of pink or yellow. Look how the blues pull back behind the rhino’s head, making the whole thing pop. It’s like he’s saying, "Here's this powerful animal, but let's pump it up with some electric color!" I bet Neiman was thinking about how to capture the rhino’s strength but also its vulnerability, using each brushstroke to build up not just an image but a feeling. See that smear of green on its face? It’s a tiny detail, but it adds a whole other layer. It reminds me of de Kooning’s big, messy women—full of energy and life. Painting is like that, a conversation across time, artists riffing off each other, always pushing, always trying to see the world in a new way.