Take That Back (Black #282) 1984

Stephen Mueller made “Take That Back (Black #282)” with paint, and I get the feeling that he had fun doing it. There's something so free about the way he lets the colors play against the dark ground. Looking closely, you can see how the paint is applied, sometimes thick, sometimes thin, almost transparent in places. I love the way he uses the brush to create these swirling, almost floral forms. Like in the lower section of the piece, that little cluster of red, white, and blue strokes against the black. It's like a burst of energy, a little firework right there on the canvas. The colors are so vibrant, they almost seem to glow against the dark background, creating this incredible tension, between light and dark. Mueller’s work reminds me of the paintings of Joan Mitchell. But where Mitchell is all sweeping gestures, Mueller is tighter, more intimate, but just as playful, embracing the mess and the magic that happens when you let the paint lead the way.