Natashkouan 1956

Marcel Barbeau made Natashkouan using a layered flurry of gestural marks and a restrained color palette, a constant back and forth of brushstrokes. I imagine Barbeau in the studio, puzzling it out. The painting must have emerged through trial and error, with constant shifts and a good dose of intuition. I bet he was thinking about how these rhythmic dashes of red, white, and black could build up some kind of atmosphere. Look at how the paint is applied—thin, almost scrubbed into the canvas. It’s less about the drama of the material, and more about making a unified surface that hums with energy. That feeling is everything in a painting. It’s about the ongoing conversation artists have with each other across time, always looking, responding, and inspiring one another. It’s this ambiguity and uncertainty that makes painting so amazing. There isn’t just one way to see it or one story to tell.