The Upper Room: Mono Naranja 2002

Chris Ofili made "The Upper Room: Mono Naranja," a painting that’s all about the color orange, like a sunset caught in a bottle. I imagine Ofili started with a kind of dare – how much can you do with just one hue? It feels like a visual poem, where the staccato marks and lyrical brushstrokes create a rhythm. The paint isn't just lying there; it’s built up, scratched back, a real push-and-pull. And that central form, like a ghostly figure emerging from the depths? I bet Ofili was thinking about presence and absence, how a mark can suggest so much with so little. It reminds me a bit of other painters like Philip Guston, who weren't afraid to get messy and embrace the unexpected. Ultimately, painting’s like a conversation, with artists riffing off each other across time. Ofili is speaking, we’re listening, and the dialogue keeps going.