Small Burst 1961

Adolph Gottlieb made this painting, Small Burst, with oil and possibly other media on canvas. The painting is divided into two parts: the red sun-like orb at the top and the dark, menacing blob at the bottom, but it seems to me like the energy is all in that upper circle! I can imagine Gottlieb making this, balancing control and chance as he applied the thinned-down paint, letting it bloom outward to create this halo effect. What's that blob below? Is it the earth, a shadow, or maybe even some dark matter? I'm seeing a connection to other painters here - like the biomorphic shapes of Miró, or the boldness of Motherwell, but Gottlieb makes it his own. What a way to show us how artists are always in conversation, riffing off each other, trying out new ideas! It's like they're all in this amazing, never-ending game of telephone.