Striker 1935

Jacob Kainen’s ‘Striker’ from 1935 is all bold strokes and watery pigment. Just look at the way he’s laid down those colours, one after the other. It feels like a fast-paced, intuitive response to the subject. I can imagine Kainen in his studio, brush in hand, maybe improvising, figuring it out as he goes. I bet there were moments of doubt, little corrections, and happy accidents too. The paint is thin, almost translucent in places, and the lines are thick and confident, defining the forms of the horse and rider with an almost cartoonish energy. That diagonal black swoop – is it the horse’s leg? Or the rider’s body? It gives a sense of movement, like a snapshot of a fleeting moment. Kainen’s work makes me think of other artists like Marsden Hartley, who were also pushing the boundaries of representation in their own ways. Painters are always building on each other’s ideas, riffing on what came before, and adding their own unique voice to the conversation. And it's nice to think of ‘Striker’ as part of this never-ending exchange of ideas!