Green Valley 2018

Vincent Xeus’s ‘Green Valley’ is an invitation into process, rendered in evocative greens and a stark, sinuous white form. Look at how the layers build up, the brushstrokes left visible; you can almost feel the artist working, responding to the painting as it unfolds. The materiality here is so important. That thick, creamy white paint against the flatter, more transparent greens, it’s all about contrast. Notice the way the white line thins and thickens, how it seems to both define a shape and dissolve into the background. It’s this tension, this push and pull between form and ground, that gives the painting its energy. It reminds me a little of Joan Mitchell’s bold, gestural marks. Ultimately, ‘Green Valley’ isn’t about a literal place; it’s about the act of painting itself, and about seeing what happens when you let the materials lead the way. It’s that beautiful ambiguity that makes art so compelling.