Untitled 1998

This untitled artwork by Rene Bertholo looks like it was made with oil paint, or maybe acrylic, the colours are slightly muted, but the composition is bursting with life. I can imagine Bertholo starting with a vague idea, maybe a sketch, but then letting the painting take over, allowing the figures to emerge from the background. Look at the way he's built up the layers, one on top of the other, creating this dense, almost dreamlike space. The colours are both harmonious and a little unsettling, like a memory that's just out of reach. What was he thinking when he made this? What does it mean? I have no idea, but it’s fun to consider. You know, painting is really a conversation, artists talking to each other across time and space, borrowing and stealing and transforming ideas. This work definitely speaks to a certain European sensibility, a kind of surreal figuration that's both playful and profound. It's a testament to the power of painting to capture the complexities and contradictions of human experience.