L’harpe 2017

Carlos Sablòn painted ‘L’harpe’ with what looks like acrylics, judging from the matte, kind of chalky finish, but maybe it’s oils, who knows? I imagine him layering warm colors and a hazy light as he built up this image of a harp radiating light and emerging from a garland of flowers. I wonder if he had a particular harp in mind, a specific light, and if it carries a personal significance? It's funny how the floral decoration frames the harp, but it also seems to be eating it, as if nature is slowly reclaiming this instrument. I love the contrast between the very clean lines of the instrument and the wildness of the flowers, the way the details of the flowers disrupt the rigid perfection of the strings. You know, painting is a conversation across time, and this feels like Sablòn is in dialogue with so many painters who came before him. It's a reminder that art is never created in isolation, but it is about sharing ideas and inspiring each other. Ultimately, painting is a form of expression that embraces ambiguity, so there's no single meaning, only possibilities.