Goliath 1990

Ken Kelly's 'Goliath' throws us right into the thick of it, a jungle showdown maybe made with oils, or acrylics - something that can handle all that detail! I imagine Kelly, brush in hand, wrestling with the composition, trying to capture the raw power of the gorilla as it tangles with the leopard. It’s all about that push and pull, the tension between the creatures, the green foliage, and the looming mountain in the back. The colours are so vibrant, especially the yellow against the green, like Kelly was trying to make the canvas explode with life. And then there's the way he renders the fur, the muscle. It makes me think of Frank Frazetta, another artist who knew how to make figures leap off the canvas. The dynamism and graphic quality of Kelly's work has this comic book energy, but with a real painterly touch. Painters are always talking to each other across time, and Kelly, like all of us, is part of that never-ending conversation, riffing on themes of power and struggle, making them his own.