Gyntiana - The Birth of Onionman 1992

Jorg Immendorff made this painting, Gyntiana - The Birth of Onionman, using oil on canvas. The color palette is like something from a slightly nightmarish dream, all saturated hues fighting it out on the canvas. The marks and lines in Immendorff’s painting feel raw, almost frantic, like he’s trying to capture a fleeting thought. It's not about perfection, but about the energy of the process, the sheer act of putting paint to canvas. Look at the thick impasto of the figures looming in the background, like they are peering into the scene from a distance. The textures in the painting build up, layer upon layer, and you can feel the physicality of the paint itself. Then, there’s the figure itself: a tableau with a birth taking place. It’s a moment of creation, but it’s messy, complicated, full of contradictions. Immendorff reminds me of Philip Guston, who, in his later work, painted in this similar way, not worried about the final product. Art shouldn't be afraid to embrace the weird.