Untitled 1986

Amilcar de Castro made this Untitled piece using broad strokes of black and green paint, really embracing the act of artmaking as a direct, physical process. There's a rawness here, isn't there? The black marks, almost like calligraphy gone wild, define two angular shapes that bracket a solid green triangle. You can almost feel the artist’s hand, the weight and speed of each brushstroke. The texture is so immediate; the paint isn't trying to hide anything, it’s just there, doing its thing. I love how the green, so contained and flat, plays against the chaotic energy of the black. This feels related to the work of Franz Kline; that same love of bold gestures and simple forms. The beauty of this piece is that it doesn’t tell you what to think. It just is. A moment, captured in paint.