À mon seul désir 1979

This is Gerard Fromanger's painting "À mon seul désir." It's one of those paintings that feels like it came into being through a lot of trial and error – a back-and-forth between the artist's initial idea and the way the paint actually behaves. I can imagine Fromanger standing in front of this canvas, brush in hand, thinking about maps and boundaries, maybe even about desire itself. Look at how he's layered these images – a world map, geometric shapes, floating figures – on top of each other with these loose orange dashes and lines. It reminds me of other artists who embrace uncertainty like Sigmar Polke, whose experimental approach to materials opened up painting to new possibilities. The texture is smooth, but those sweeping gestures create a sense of movement. That thick red cross there is a bold choice. I like that it pushes against the flatness of the surface, giving the painting a kind of awkward, restless energy. It feels like Fromanger is in conversation with other painters throughout history, inspiring and challenging each other across time. For me, the beauty of painting lies in this openness – its ambiguity and uncertainty.