#121 1998

Fernando Calhau made this painting, #121, using simple materials to striking effect. It's basically a black diamond, but look closer. The surface is built from countless small marks, worked and reworked. I imagine the artist applying thin layers, scraping back, then adding more—a real back-and-forth with the canvas. The black is so dense, so absolute, it has a strange kind of depth. It's like looking into a void. I bet Calhau was thinking about the weight of color here, maybe inspired by Malevich's black square, trying to push painting to its barest essence. Each little gesture, each stroke and scrape, communicates something. It’s not just a flat surface; it's a record of action, a map of decisions made. The painting feels both monumental and intimate. It invites you to come closer, to get lost in the details, and to reflect on the possibilities of art. It reminds me that painting is alive, a conversation that never ends.