Ours Petrifies 1958

Albert Bitran’s painting, Ours Petrifies, is all about the push and pull of color, the materiality of paint and the process of art making. Just look at that off-white ground, with the barest suggestion of yellow, the kind of color that hums with quiet energy. The physicality here is key: you can almost feel the give and take of the brush, the layering and scraping. Check out the central red shape. It’s not just a flat block of color, it's a cascade, a vibrant pour caught mid-flow. It’s like Bitran is showing us how the painting came to be, the decisions and revisions, all there on the surface. That small blue window that peeks through, it’s a playful reminder that paintings, like life, are full of surprises and hidden depths. This embrace of the process reminds me of Joan Mitchell, who was similarly unafraid to let the messiness of painting be part of the final work. Ultimately, Ours Petrifies is not about answers, but about the joy of looking and the ongoing dialogue between the artist, the materials, and us.