Across the Street 1951

Yasuo Kuniyoshi made this painting, "Across the Street," with crayons, and what hits me first is the raw energy in it, like a kid just going wild with color. The surface is all scumbled, those crayon marks feel immediate, nothing fussy or overworked. You can almost feel Kuniyoshi attacking the paper, building up layers of colour until these strange, geometric shapes start to appear. Look at the right-hand form, how the red and blue bump into each other; there is something child-like in the application. I think of someone like Forrest Bess when I look at this. Kuniyoshi is unafraid to leave things unresolved, embracing the mess and murk of the process. It's like he’s saying, "Here it is, in all its imperfect glory." And that’s what makes it so alive.