Statue of Liberty 1986

Malcolm Morley made this watercolor of the Statue of Liberty with loose washes of color and free, gestural marks. It’s like he’s saying art is a process, a flow, not just a finished thing. Look at the sky. It’s all these soft blues and grays, bleeding into each other. Then, lower down, these little dabs and strokes of green and brown suggest land and water. The statue itself is just a few dark strokes, almost like an afterthought. It’s as if he’s capturing a fleeting moment, more about feeling than perfect representation. It's hard to pin down exactly what he’s doing, but I like that. It reminds me of some of Joan Mitchell’s loose landscapes, where the paint seems to breathe and move on its own. Art isn't about answering questions, but about keeping the conversation going, you know?