Dibirdibi Country 2008

Sally Gabori made this painting, Dibirdibi Country, most likely with acrylic on canvas. It's really something, isn't it? I love how the red and yellow play together, all juicy and bright. It feels like a landscape, but also like pure, luscious abstraction. The paint is laid on pretty thick, you can see the marks where Gabori moved it around, probably with a big brush or even a palette knife. The texture makes the colors sing, almost like they're vibrating. Look at the way the yellow kind of drips down – it's so physical, so immediate. It’s like she’s carving the space with color. And the red underneath, it’s not just a background, it pushes forward and shapes the yellow. Gabori started painting later in life, and her work always felt so free, so unburdened by art world expectations. You could maybe compare her to someone like Joan Mitchell, who also used color and gesture to evoke feeling and memory. But Gabori’s got her own thing, a kind of raw energy that's totally unique. It’s a reminder that painting can be anything you want it to be.