Trauerweide 2021

Gazmend Freitag made this painting, "Trauerweide," using oil paint to conjure a weeping willow tree—I think it's from 2024. The brushstrokes are so expressive. The painting has a kind of directness to it that I love. It's not overworked; you can see the hand of the artist in every mark. Looking at the lower part of the tree, the way the greens and yellows blend together, you can almost feel the light filtering through the leaves. Freitag isn't afraid to let the paint do its thing, to let the colors mix and mingle on the canvas. I find myself thinking of Van Gogh, who had that same willingness to let the paint be paint, to let the colors sing. It's like they're both saying, "Here's the world, but here's also the stuff that makes the world, the pigment, the brush, the hand." It's this openness to the process that makes the work so alive, so full of feeling.