Renfrew 1983

Albert Irvin made this painting, Renfrew, with who knows what, probably acrylic on canvas, looks like he was really pushing the paint around. I love the way the juicy oranges and reds seem to be scraped and dragged across the surface, it feels like you’re witnessing a real event, a performance. Look at the way that big orange brushstroke at the top seems to explode outwards, it's so full of energy, and underneath it those horizontal bars of colour - a kind of sunset stripe of yellow, blue, pink, and red - they’re so vibrant, like a visual chord, so bold, almost daring. The paint is so present, so physical, I can practically smell it. Irvin reminds me of Joan Mitchell, in the way both artists use these big, gestural marks to create a sense of space and depth, but they never quite resolve into a clear image. It’s all about the process, the doing, the messy, beautiful act of painting.