Careless Love 1995 - 1996

Elizabeth Murray’s ‘Careless Love’ isn’t just a painting; it’s a constructed object, built up, layer upon layer, like a conversation between the artist and the canvas. I can almost feel the weight of the materials, the push and pull of colors, and the struggle to bring the thing into being. I wonder what it was like for Murray to make this – the physical act of painting such a large object must have felt like hard work! It has a thick impasto that looks almost like a relief, and these lines and shapes aren't just laid on the surface; they carve out space, defining and disrupting it. And look at the way Murray lets certain gestures loop and swirl; that kind of mark-making is so deliberate and yet so free. ‘Careless Love’ stands as a testament to Murray’s experimental approach and invites comparison to the work of other painter-sculptors like Lee Bontecou or even Frank Stella. Painting becomes this embodied expression that embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple readings. It is about feeling, intention, and meaning all at once.