Vertical-Blue-Brown-White 1984

Robert Goodnough created this painting titled Vertical-Blue-Brown-White using paint on canvas. Observe how the composition is immediately striking; it’s an intricate dance of fragmented forms against a muted background. The interplay of colour, predominantly blues, browns, and whites, creates a sense of depth and movement, with the triangular shapes lending a dynamic energy to the canvas. Goodnough’s work here seems to engage with ideas around chance and order, reflecting the post-war era's fascination with existentialism. The seemingly random placement of shapes hints at chaos, yet the overall composition suggests a hidden structure, a system beneath the surface. This tension destabilizes our conventional understanding of painting, challenging the viewer to find meaning within the abstraction. Consider how the very act of painting, the application of pigment to canvas, becomes a philosophical statement. This is not merely decoration but an exploration of the limits of representation. It's a visual language where each stroke functions as a sign, inviting us to interpret the underlying codes and cultural values.