Habeas Corpus 2006

Bo Bartlett made this oil painting called ‘Habeas Corpus,’ and wow, it really throws you into the deep end, doesn’t it? It's like he's wrestling with something big. Look at how the light and dark kinda fight each other across the canvas; there are these figures illuminated and others lurking in shadow. I imagine Bartlett, brush in hand, maybe pacing around his studio, trying to make sense of these contrasting elements. What’s so remarkable to me is how the heaviness of the subject matter really impacts the texture, color, and surface. You can almost feel the weight of each stroke, as if the paint itself is bearing witness to the scene. That sense of tension reminds me of Goya, but with a contemporary spin. It's like Bartlett is saying, 'Hey, we're still dealing with this stuff.' Painting, like life, is an ongoing conversation, a way to keep questioning and keep feeling.