Table with nebulae 1993

Eugene Brands laid down this oil paint, dark strokes for the night, and some bright ones for a table and a moon, and I imagine him working quickly, trying to capture something fleeting. The brushwork is visible, energetic, and a bit messy, which gives the painting a real sense of immediacy, as if he was trying to get the image down before it disappeared. I can imagine him squinting and stepping back from the canvas. He's figuring something out. The palette is very dark, and then there's this table, glowing with red and orange. Maybe it's a warm light. It makes me think about the work of other painters like the mysterious late night interiors of Vilhelm Hammershøi. We’re all just having this big conversation across time. It is a back and forth and side to side - of color and thoughts. It is an embrace of uncertainty. And the beautiful mess of not knowing for sure.