Untitled (from Collection Resonance) 2011

This painting by Monique Orsini is all about feeling; a big blast of red slashed with black, it makes me think about the energy of making. Imagine the artist, smearing, layering, pushing paint around the canvas, and how the painting emerges through trial, error, and intuition. It makes you realize that the physical act of painting is like a dance, a conversation between the artist, the paint, and the surface. The paint looks pretty thin, so maybe it's acrylic or thinned oil, and the brushstrokes are so gestural, so free. A smear of red here, a dab of black there – it's like Orsini is thinking through her hand, letting the paint lead the way. It reminds me a little of Joan Mitchell's work. Painters are always talking to each other across time, picking up on each other's moves and riffing on them. This painting is an embodied expression of the artist’s creative energy, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple readings.