Untitled 1958

Vilen Barsky, with a brush loaded up with thick oil paint, made this painting, with no title, on canvas. The greens and purples are vying for my attention, pushing against the blacks and whites to make a statement. I imagine Barsky layering on these brushstrokes, maybe stepping back, considering it, and then diving back in. Look how the white kind of swerves dramatically across the center! It’s got a real boldness, a swagger. It is fun to consider the conversations between artists happening all the time. I wonder if he knew Joan Mitchell. I mean, maybe all abstract painters are in conversation with one another, each pushing and pulling at the boundaries of what paint can do. It's about gestures, right? How do you make a gesture in paint that says something, or maybe it's more about feeling something? Whatever it is, Barsky is right there in the mix, adding his voice to the chorus.