Greenock 1958

Editor: This is John Ferren's "Greenock" from 1958, made with oil paint. The colors are so bold and kind of clash-y, but somehow it's also harmonious. What do you make of this piece? Curator: Harmonious clash, I love that! For me, “Greenock” feels like looking at a memory of a landscape. All the essential pieces are there – a sense of ground, horizon, and sky – but deconstructed. Ferren is less concerned with accurately depicting the scene and more about capturing the emotion of being in a place, you know? What do you feel? Editor: It’s interesting you say emotion. Initially, I saw clashing colors, but looking closer, it reminds me of childhood summers by the sea. There's a boat, maybe some docks. Curator: See! Memory… the artist seems to capture half remembered visions of things. Did you notice how Ferren uses geometry combined with abstract strokes? Like, those bold color blocks creating the borders. The composition pulls your eye every which way. Editor: Yes, the border pulls the painting together. It’s like Ferren wanted a window, even if distorted, of what he had once witnessed. I think the chaos represents the act of remembering itself – jumbled and incomplete. Curator: What an amazing thing about Abstract Expressionism - how it opens our minds. When we allow the painting to talk back to us we start to understand it on an emotional level. I really admire your insight, from 'clash-y' to this incredibly thoughtful perspective. Editor: Thanks! It’s really cool to realize I can have a personal dialogue with artwork I've just met.