Mill Worker (Night Shift) 1976

Ralph Fasanella made "Mill Worker (Night Shift)" with paint on canvas, and what grabs me is his unrefined, process-driven approach. The colors are muted, almost dreamlike, and that texture – it's like he layered the paint, each stroke a record of his hand. Looking at the details, you can tell he wasn't trying to hide anything, the way he rendered the brickwork, the repetition of the windows and machinery, each is clearly defined yet painted with an idiosyncratic mark making. It’s all kind of flattened and direct, creating a window into the world of labor. Check out the ghostly glow of the moon, the way it casts a pallid light over the factory, turning the grimy red brick into a stage set. It's almost theatrical, yet grounded in the reality of work. Fasanella reminds me of Philip Guston, another artist who embraced the messy, the cartoonish, in the service of something deeply human. Both artists knew that art isn't about perfection; it’s about feeling, about letting the work breathe and evolve.