Untitled 1945

This untitled work was made with pastel by Charles Lapicque, sometime during his career. I love the push-and-pull of colour and the way he’s making space just by layering. You can really see Lapicque thinking through his process. There’s a looseness to the application of the medium which suggests the way he might have thought about his compositions, not as fixed things, but as places for movement and exploration. The black lines define the forms and create tension, but they don’t quite contain the colours, which seem to want to escape. The lower section of the piece looks like a landscape, it has a bright blue, very gestural application that looks like it was done at speed. I’m reminded of some of Marsden Hartley’s late paintings of mountains and seascapes, full of colour and expression. Ultimately, this piece is about the experience of seeing and feeling, rather than representing something specific.