Cargo 1958

Conrad Marca-Relli made this collage painting called Cargo out of canvas and oil paint. Imagine him shuffling around pieces of painted canvas—the intuitive and playful arrangement of forms. It’s like a dance of color and texture. I imagine him, in his studio, maybe feeling a bit restless, pushing these shapes around until they lock into place. I feel for this artist, and the way the black marks confidently stride across the canvas. The buttery yellows peek out with a kind of hesitant optimism. There’s an honesty to the surface that’s really appealing, a kind of rawness that feels very human. This reminds me a little of some of the early collage work of artists like Kurt Schwitters. And I always wonder, when looking at paintings, what other artists the artist was looking at! It's like one big conversation through time. This piece really resonates with me – it's about embracing the messy, uncertain process of making.