l’arbre et la vie 2022

Carlos Sablòn made this painting, l’arbre et la vie, with what looks like oil on canvas, and there’s something really beautiful in his approach to mark making. I’m drawn to the way the paint is layered, thin in some areas, like the background sky, but with a tangible thickness that brings out the textures of the tree. The color palette is muted, dominated by blues, browns, and whites, yet there are surprising hints of warmer tones that peek through, creating a sense of depth. Look at how the artist has rendered the branches, and the tiny birds: there’s a delicacy there. As a painter, I’m often thinking about the conversation between the real and the abstract, and I think Sablòn is doing something similar here. This piece reminds me a little of Milton Avery, in the way it captures a sense of quiet contemplation. Ultimately, art is an exchange of ideas, a back-and-forth between the seen and the unseen.