Nicolai Strasse Robes 2011

Jim Dine's "Nicolai Strasse Robes" is a diptych—two panels side by side—with an image in black on the left, and in dreamy colour on the right. The marks are fast and intuitive, soaked with feeling; Dine is letting his process show. Look at the contrast between the two panels, the monochrome sketchiness versus the saturated hues. The right panel feels like a memory, or a dream, with its blues, greens, and browns. Dine builds up layers, letting colors bleed into each other, not trying to hide the messiness of the process. See the way he uses the brush to create those vertical lines? It’s almost like rain, or tears, washing over the image. "Nicolai Strasse Robes" reminds me a little of Cy Twombly. Both artists are interested in how a quick and dirty mark can trigger a feeling. With Dine, it’s not about perfection, but about the gesture, the emotional charge of the line. His art is a conversation about the ongoing exchange of ideas across time, and embraces ambiguity.