Construction 1968

Alexander Bogen made this painting, Construction, with oil on canvas in 1968. The way Bogen works with these bold black marks reminds me that painting is as much about building as it is about expression. Look at the surface. The paint isn't trying to hide itself here; it's not smoothed over or blended perfectly. You can see the texture, the little peaks and valleys where the brush moved. This is especially visible in the oranges, where the application is thinner, and it lets the material and process speak. I see Bogen building up this image, layering light and shadow, balancing the heavy black with the airy, almost translucent washes of color. Notice how the black strokes aren't just lines, but blocks, shapes that feel like they're pushing and pulling against each other. This push and pull remind me of Diebenkorn, how he used abstraction to create space. I love how both artists let us see the bones of their process, inviting us to imagine our own structures.