Slippery When Wet, 1985 1985

Richard Hambleton made Slippery When Wet in 1985, probably with acrylic or maybe oil, who knows, with big brushes and a lot of energy. The painting comes into being through bold, gestural marks in a dark grey against a light pink ground, as though he's scraping the paint across the canvas. The figure looks like it’s caught mid-air, maybe falling or jumping—it’s that fleeting moment of movement and drama. I can imagine him, Hambleton, standing back, looking, then lunging forward with the brush, trying to capture something raw and urgent. The paint is pretty thick, you can almost feel the texture, and that one big swoosh at the bottom right, it's like a signature, a bold statement. It is almost as if de Kooning met street art! Anyway, it feels like Hambleton had something to say, and he wasn't holding back. Artists are always riffing off each other, picking up ideas, throwing them back out there, and making something new. Painting, for me, is like a conversation—it’s messy, unresolved, and totally alive.