Huile sur papier journal No.4 1984

Maurice Esteve made this 'Huile sur papier journal No.4' with oil on newspaper, and you can really see the process at work. He’s let the newsprint peek through, and it's like the painting is built on top of the day’s headlines – a foundation of words and information. The colours are bold and earthy, reds, yellows, blacks, laid down in these decisive strokes. The figures almost feel like they're emerging from the chaos of the news, solidifying into something more permanent. Take a look at the figure on the right, the way the brown paint drips down, connecting head to shoulder, it's a great example of how a simple gesture can bring the whole thing together. It reminds me a little of some early work by Phillip Guston, but also harks back to Synthetic Cubism. In the end, it’s all about the conversation between painting and seeing, and how artists keep finding new ways to talk to each other across time.