Embroidered Halo 1958

Adja Yunkers made this painting, Embroidered Halo, with oil, and you can almost feel the making of it. It's like he's wrestling with the paint, pushing it around to create these soft, blurred shapes. Look at the way he layers the colors, the blacks and blues and purples, almost like he's building up a storm. But then there are these touches of light, these hazy pinks and lavenders that peek through, giving the whole thing a kind of dreamlike quality. There's a big, dark form at the bottom, like a heavy weight, but above it, there's this swooping, swirling shape that feels like it's reaching up towards something, maybe even trying to escape. It makes me think of someone like Clyfford Still, you know, another artist who wasn't afraid to get messy and explore the raw power of paint. With Yunkers and Still, it's like they are using paint to tap into something primal, something beyond words. It’s like they are having a conversation about what painting *can* do.