Flagrante III 1997

Sa Nogueira made ‘Flagrante III’ with paint, and a sense of urgency. It’s all about the push and pull of colour, the way the blues and purples wrestle with the yellows, and the browns anchor everything down. Look at how Nogueira has layered the paint. It’s not about hiding the process, but flaunting it! You can see the strokes, the drips, the way one colour bleeds into another. The texture is rough, almost raw, which gives the painting a real sense of immediacy. Then there’s that little green blob near the bottom, a splash of unexpected colour that just makes the whole thing sing. It’s like a tiny revolt against the seriousness of the rest of the painting. I’m reminded of de Kooning, that same energy, that willingness to let the painting be messy and unresolved. ‘Flagrante III’ isn’t about neat answers, it’s about the joy and struggle of making something new.