Untitled 2009

Ed Clark made this untitled painting, and from the look of it, he was working with some thick acrylics! There's a real sense of freedom and experimentation in the way he's applied the paint. It's not about representation, it's about the pure joy of color and texture. I get the feeling that Clark wasn't trying to control every detail, but rather letting the paint itself dictate the direction of the piece. Notice the impasto, especially around the yellow and teal area. You can almost see the energy of his hand as he layered those strokes, building up a rich, tactile surface. The cracks in the teal are lovely! For me, a work like this is a reminder that artmaking is as much about the process as it is about the final product. It reminds me a bit of Joan Mitchell's gestural paintings, where emotion and intuition take center stage. It's a conversation, ideas exchanging across time. Ultimately, it's up to us to bring our own experiences and interpretations to the canvas.