Thurman Munson 1976

LeRoy Neiman made this oil painting of Thurman Munson with gestural brushstrokes, capturing the spirit of the game and the athlete. Neiman's application of paint is confident and immediate. Look at the red of Munson's chest protector, how the strokes of color don't blend but vibrate against each other. The texture of the paint is palpable; you can almost feel the energy of the moment. See how Neiman uses these energetic marks to describe not just Munson's likeness, but the whole feeling of being at the ballpark. There's something kind of performative about his brushwork, as if the painting itself is a kind of sporting event. The directness of his approach reminds me of Joan Mitchell, who like Neiman embraced the physicality of paint and gesture. Both artists show us that art is not just about representation, but about the act of creation itself. And how that act can capture something about life that's hard to put into words.