Niobe 1965

Leon Golub made this artwork ‘Niobe’ on a sheet using dark greens, blacks and browns. I see the action of painting itself, where Golub’s hand has shifted and moved, creating a world through trial, error and intuition. I can really sympathize with Golub here, wondering what it might have been like to create this? What was he thinking? The paint is thin, giving the image a ghostly, ethereal quality. Notice that figure at the front, kneeling, with arms outstretched. It’s a gesture that communicates feeling, intention, maybe even a plea. This piece really chimes with Golub’s wider practice, which often deals with the human figure in extremis. He’s in dialogue with other painters, too, those who explore the body and the raw edges of human experience. Artists are always in conversation, exchanging ideas across time. Painting is an expression that embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations, never just one fixed meaning.