The Peace 1985

This is Lucio Pozzi’s “The Peace,” made in 1985 using watercolor and graphite on paper. The marks are loose and gestural, like he worked fast, almost in a frenzy! The palette of greens, blues, reds, and browns creates a world of ambiguity and uncertainty. I can imagine Pozzi starting with a vague idea, maybe a sketch, then letting the painting take over, shifting and changing as he went. What could he have been thinking? Perhaps about the relationship between chaos and harmony, or the struggle to find peace in a world of conflict. The texture is smooth, the watercolor thin, allowing the white of the paper to peek through. The bold strokes, especially the way he layers the greens, seem like a conversation between the artist and the medium. It makes me think of other painters like Philip Guston, who similarly embraced a kind of raw, expressive style. Artists are constantly in dialogue with each other. Each brushstroke, each color choice is a response to what came before, and an invitation for what comes next.