Z--Z--Z 1998

Robert Goodnough made this painting titled Z--Z--Z with paint, sometime, well, we don't exactly know when. Against a dark backdrop, we see a flurry of triangular shapes, a bit like confetti caught in mid-air. The colours are playful—reds, blues, whites—each triangle a little world of its own. Goodnough’s touch feels both deliberate and spontaneous. Look closely at the edges of those triangles. Some are sharp, others softened, blurred as if the paint itself is breathing. The dark ground isn't just a void; it's textured, alive with subtle variations that make the colors pop. It's like he’s not just painting shapes, but capturing a fleeting moment, a sense of joyful chaos. Goodnough’s work reminds me a little of Joan Miró, that same sense of playful abstraction, but grounded with an American directness. It invites you to lose yourself in the dance of colour and form, and to find your own rhythm within its joyful chaos.