My First Steps in the Hell 1947

Endre Rozsda painted "My First Steps in Hell" with what looks like oil, and a whole lotta intuition. The colour palette is intense, almost hallucinatory. I can feel Rozsda figuring things out as he went, letting the process be visible. Up close, the painting has this amazing, rough texture. Thick swipes of paint build up a surface that’s almost sculptural. The colours blend and clash, creating an emotional tension – a kind of visual unease that really resonates with the title, don’t you think? Look at the bottom left corner where he has built up these dark reds. It’s like staring into the abyss, but one that’s been beautifully rendered. Rozsda reminds me a bit of some of the Surrealists, like Roberto Matta, who were also exploring these kinds of psychic landscapes. But Rozsda’s got his own thing going on. It is like he wants us to embrace the beautiful mess of it all.