Negev 1989

Alexander Bogen made this painting, ‘Negev’, with oil paint and a brush, or maybe even a palette knife. You can almost feel the sun beating down in the desert, can’t you? I love how Bogen uses yellows and oranges, like he’s squeezing the color straight from the landscape. The paint is applied thickly, you can see the texture and the strokes are confident and direct. See that dab of green, a vertical line, just off-center? It's like a tiny burst of life, a surprising note of coolness in all that heat. It suggests a hidden oasis, or maybe just a stubborn little plant pushing through the sand. This piece reminds me a little of Milton Avery, another artist who wasn't afraid to simplify and intensify color to capture the essence of a place. Ultimately, ‘Negev’ is a great example of how paint can do more than just represent something, it can embody the feeling of a place, too.