Noir d'ivoire II 2008

Monique Orsini made this painting, Noir d'ivoire II, using bold, sweeping strokes in a stark black and white palette, which feels like a dance between control and spontaneity. The texture here is so compelling, isn't it? You can almost feel the bristles of the brush against the canvas. Look closely at the way the paint is layered, thick in some areas, almost transparent in others. Notice how the artist coaxes depth and form from a single colour through shifts in tone and texture. There’s a real physicality to the medium here, a sense of the artist’s hand moving confidently across the surface, building up these dramatic, almost abstract forms. It reminds me a bit of Franz Kline, actually, in its willingness to embrace the raw energy of the mark. Like Kline, Orsini isn't afraid to leave things unresolved, inviting us to find our own way into the image.