Larry Bird & Magic Johnson 1988

LeRoy Neiman made this, I'm guessing, sometime in the late 20th century; he really went for it with the loose brushstrokes to capture Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in action. The way Neiman piles on the paint, it's almost like he's sculpting the players out of pure energy. Look at the yellows and reds around Magic, those dabs feel really physical. I get this sense of the artist’s hand wrestling with the image, trying to nail down the feeling of the game as much as the likenesses of the players. It's like he’s saying painting is a contact sport too. There’s this wild, almost Fauvist palette going on. Neiman’s definitely doing his own thing, but I can't help but think about someone like Joan Mitchell. Both share this joy in pushing color to its absolute limit, creating a vibrant, emotional experience. Ultimately, art's about the conversation, right? It's never really about having the last word.