Untitled 1993

This untitled painting by Albert Oehlen feels like a jam session, a wild improvisation with brushes and colors. The palette's got this cool, almost murky vibe, punctuated by bursts of lemon yellow and flashes of red, like a discordant chord that somehow works. You can see how Oehlen lets the paint do its thing. It’s thin in some spots, almost like a watercolor wash, then thick and juicy in others, creating a real push and pull across the canvas. Check out the lower left corner, the way the lines are laid down like framing devices, only they don’t contain or hold anything. It’s like he’s messing with the whole idea of structure and composition. Oehlen reminds me a bit of artists like Charline von Heyl, who also aren't afraid to throw the rule book out the window and just let the painting become its own weird, wonderful thing. For Oehlen, painting isn't about answers, it’s about embracing the questions and letting the process lead the way.