Mirjeta 1 2011

Gazmend Freitag painted 'Mirjeta 1,' in oil, sometime around 2011. It's a painting built from juicy marks, where blocks of colour create a kind of shimmering surface. You can really see the artist working through the medium. I love how the pinks and yellows become the blonde hair, a shorthand of colour that describes light and form. The paint isn't overworked, it's fresh and the artist trusts the medium to do the work. See that slash of white along the right-hand side of the face? It's like a quick breath, a confident application that creates form and also flattens the image. The background colours push forward too, so the figure and ground merge and push against each other. This reminds me of Alex Katz's portraits, where a few well-placed marks create a likeness and a mood. Both artists use colour and brushwork to bring their subjects to life, creating a sense of depth and emotion with a deceptively simple approach. It’s all about trusting the process and allowing the medium to speak.