Untitled 1994

Emily Kame Kngwarreye made this untitled painting with what looks like broad brushstrokes, mostly in reds and yellows, playing off a lighter green background. You can really see the process here, how each mark is laid down with confidence, almost like the painting is built through layers of intuition. The colours are so rich, aren’t they? The warm reds and yellows give a sense of energy. Then there’s the texture – thick strokes, thin strokes, some areas where the paint is so light it’s almost transparent, and others where it’s built up, creating little ridges and valleys. Notice how she’s varied the marks: long, gestural lines alongside these little staccato dots. It’s like she’s creating a visual rhythm, a dance across the surface, and it makes me think about landscapes and the flow of nature, the way things grow and change. Kngwarreye’s work really speaks to the idea that art is about the journey, the exploration, rather than just arriving at a destination. I see echoes of Joan Mitchell in the boldness of her mark-making. It’s a conversation across time, isn’t it?