Lever de soleil 1971

Chaibia Talal made this painting, called Lever de soleil, with what looks like oil paint, maybe around the middle of the 20th century. The colours feel very grounded, earthy, even the orange has this density to it. There’s something very raw about the making here. It feels intuitive. Thick dark lines give it structure, like a stained glass window. But it’s the tension between the lines, and the flatter areas of colour, that's interesting. Look at the yellow hand shapes in the middle, how they almost float away, but are then brought back down to earth by that heavy outline. Talal has a freedom that reminds me of some of the earlier 20th Century Expressionists, like Emil Nolde, but with a completely unique vision. What you get from a piece of art is never just one thing, it shifts with your own mood, the time of day, or what you had for breakfast. And that’s what makes looking at art so exciting.