Slippery When Wet, 1985 1985

Richard Hambleton made "Slippery When Wet" in 1985, and you can almost feel the urgency in the way he applied the paint. There’s a real sense of process here, like he's wrestling with the image, trying to pin it down. The figure is built up with thick, almost sculptural daubs of dark paint, contrasted against the thin, washy background. The texture is so present, you can practically see the bristles of the brush, the force of his hand. Look at the way he's dragged the paint around the figure, leaving these ghostly trails, like the memory of a movement. The splatters feel almost violent, but there’s also a kind of beauty in their randomness. Hambleton's work reminds me of some of the early expressionists, like Kirchner, who were also grappling with the anxieties of modern life. But Hambleton brings a distinctly streetwise sensibility to it all. Ultimately, this painting is less about answers, and more about embracing the messy, contradictory nature of experience.