JEU DE BROUETTE 1988

René Marcil made this painting, Jeu de Brouette, with paint, of course! The image is composed with a limited palette, the paint is applied directly, and it’s really the kind of mark-making that tells you about the process. The thing that really grabs me in this painting is the texture, the way the brushstrokes build up a surface that feels both immediate and raw. Take a look at the black area on the lower right. The paint is thick, almost sculptural, and you can practically see the artist’s hand moving across the surface. The way Marcil uses color is also so great. The orange is almost violently opposed to the black, which, in turn, accentuates the off-kilter composition. I mean, who puts a skull on top of what seems like a wheelbarrow! This reminds me of Francis Picabia’s approach to painting, with its interest in the mechanical and the absurd. In the end, the beauty of art is that it doesn't have to make sense, it just has to make you feel *something*.