Man in the Brick Wall 1972

Charles Garabedian made 'Man in the Brick Wall', and it is a wild dance of representation and... something else! The guy’s body, rendered in fleshy, anxious strokes, is all tension. He’s up against this brick wall, or maybe emerging from it? It's hard to tell. Garabedian was a true original, he knew the history of painting, but then veered off in his own direction. I can imagine him in the studio, wrestling with the paint, trying to pin down this figure, but also letting the colors and textures have their say. I love how the browns and reds of the brick contrast with the pale flesh tones. See that one spot of bright orange on the brick? It catches the light and gives the whole thing a jolt of energy. Painting is never just about what you see, but how you feel. Artists are constantly in dialogue with each other, and each painting is like a new verse in an ongoing conversation.