The Parachutists 1944

William Baziotes made this painting, called 'The Parachutists,' with oil on canvas. The colour palette is really interesting – this mix of turquoise, yellows, and blacks, alongside reds and pinks feels like the result of experimentation. I wonder if he felt the same way I do when I'm layering paint, like I'm searching for something that's just beyond my grasp. Look at the surface – it's not smooth. There's a thickness to the paint in places that suggests a building-up, a reworking. I wonder if he scraped it back or added more? I bet Baziotes was thinking about how he could communicate a feeling. You can see a certain kind of conversation with painters like Gorky, and even with artists working today. It is amazing how different artists who have never even met are often in conversation with each other, across time and space. It reminds me that painting is embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty.