La Victoire de l'Inevitable 1970

Jules Perahim made this powerful painting, La Victoire de l'Inevitable, with oil on canvas. Look how the ghostly yellow figure seems to emerge from the blue and brown ground, almost like she's still in the process of solidifying. It makes you think about artmaking as a kind of alchemical process. I am drawn to the dripping paint that forms the figures contours. It’s like Perahim didn’t so much paint the figure as allow her to materialize through the act of painting. It's not just about depiction; it's about the physicality of the medium itself. The drippy paint handling and tonal variations give the figure a sense of instability, which links directly with the title, which means 'The Victory of the Inevitable'. This painting reminds me a little of Francis Picabia, another artist who wasn’t afraid to embrace ambiguity and experiment with different styles, playing with abstraction and figuration. It’s this spirit of openness, this willingness to let the unexpected happen, that makes art so exciting.