The old slaughterhouse on the river Kupa 2013

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this painting of the old slaughterhouse on the river Kupa with ink on paper. It's all swift gestures in monochrome, like the artist was trying to capture a memory before it faded. I can imagine Krupa standing there, brush in hand, letting the ink flow, trusting his intuition. It's like he’s saying, “Here’s what I saw, here’s what I felt, quick, before it’s gone.” I think of other painters like Brice Marden, who also use line to map out a kind of emotional geography. That dark swoosh across the bottom, for example. Is it a shadow? A riverbank? It doesn’t really matter, because it communicates movement, like the whole scene is alive and breathing. These decisions aren't just about depicting a place, but about creating an experience. And that’s what painting is all about, isn’t it?