Self with Red Hat 1985

Rainer Fetting made this painting, "Self with Red Hat," with what looks like oil paint, and a heck of a lot of energy. I love how he's just gone for it, those bold strokes of yellow and that slash of red for the hat. It’s like he’s wrestling with the paint, trying to pin down an image of himself. Look at the face, how it's built up with all these different colours – greens and reds fighting it out. The paint is thick and juicy, you can almost feel the bristles of the brush dragging across the canvas. And the way he's left those little white streaks, like scratches, it gives the whole thing this raw, unfinished feel. It’s like a quick sketch, but with the weight and presence of a fully realized painting. I can see echoes of the German Expressionists like Kirchner or Heckel, in that same willingness to distort and exaggerate for emotional impact. It feels honest. Like a true glimpse of the artist.