Untitled 2010

Paul du Toit painted this unnamed piece, and it’s a riot of color laid down with confident strokes. I love how the process is so visible here, like the painting is still breathing. The texture jumps out, doesn't it? Thick globs of paint, especially in that black background, give it a real physical presence. You can almost feel the energy he put into each stroke. Then you see that bright orange and red target shape at the top; it’s like a bullseye for your eye. The more I look, the more I see a strange sort of portrait. It reminds me a little of Picabia, with his playful approach to figuration. But this is pure du Toit, that willingness to put it all out there, unfinished, unresolved. It's a reminder that art isn't about answers, it’s about the questions we ask along the way.