Slate 1980

Friedel Dzubas made this colour field painting, Slate, using loose washes of acrylic paint. See how he's letting the paint do its thing? There’s a kind of freedom here, a willingness to see where the materials will lead. I’m drawn to how the juicy pinks and blues at the bottom edge bump up against that intense dark sienna. It feels like he's conjuring a moody landscape, but one that's just beyond our grasp. Then you see that confident slash of red, pulling the whole thing into focus. It's like a jolt of energy, a reminder that painting is an act. Thinking about Dzubas, I am reminded of Helen Frankenthaler; both artists shared this process-led approach. Like a conversation between friends over time, painting can be about responding, reacting, and building upon what's come before. And that's what keeps it alive, this constant back-and-forth, this beautiful ambiguity.