So Beautiful 2006

Bram Bogart made 'So Beautiful' using thick layers of oil paint. Bogart's paintings stand out for their sculptural quality, achieved through the bold, almost crude application of paint. He didn't just apply the paint; he built with it, squeezing it directly from the tube onto the canvas. Look closely, and you can see how the material has been worked. Bogart mixed sand and other materials into his paint, increasing the thickness of the pigment, and giving the painting a tactile, almost architectural presence. This approach challenges the traditional idea of painting as an illusionistic window. Instead, Bogart draws attention to the material reality of paint itself, and the labor involved in moving it around. It is this physicality that brings us closer to understanding the work, and to understanding the traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.