The Navigators 1996

Malcolm Morley’s painting, The Navigators, is an explosion of cerulean blue and white, and I just love how he has created the scene with big, confident brushstrokes. It’s almost like the painting came into being through a battle between control and chance. You know, when you look at the waves crashing around those Viking ships, you can almost feel the cold spray on your face, and sense the whale beneath the boats—wow! And those stripes on the sails, they're so bold! I can imagine Morley, brush in hand, thinking about texture, color, surface, and the physicality of the medium, wrestling with the paint. The Navigators reminds me of Winslow Homer’s seascapes, which are so full of the drama of life. I think artists like Morley and Homer are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring each other across time. It’s all about an embodied expression, right? Ambiguity, uncertainty, multiple interpretations—that’s what makes it so exciting!