Tony Blackburn 1994

This is Gary Hume’s painting "Tony Blackburn," and what's really grabbing me is how Hume uses color as a kind of drawing tool, or maybe even as a way to sculpt space. I mean, look at how the yellow at the bottom kind of oozes up, butting against the soft pink. There’s a tension there, right? It's like he's pushing and pulling these color planes to create depth, but also flatness. The black shape looms above, a big, blunt force that's somehow also kind of gentle. And that surface – it's so smooth, like a sign painting. It reminds me a little bit of Alex Katz, but with this weird, melancholic twist. It’s like a pop song played on a slightly out-of-tune piano. It doesn't quite resolve itself, but that's what makes it so interesting. It's a painting that keeps you guessing.