Platter under Georgia Fish 1966

Ivan Albright made this painting called, 'Platter under Georgia Fish' with watercolor and graphite. The fish are not static, they seem to swim in and out of focus, rendered with watercolor that has a life of its own. Look at the eye of the fish at the lower right, which is a pool of black paint that seems to absorb light. It's a stark contrast to the liveliness of the brushstrokes throughout the rest of the painting. The red watercolor in the background feels both deliberate and accidental, creating a tension between control and spontaneity. Albright's use of watercolor feels like a dance between the hand, the eye, and the unpredictable nature of the medium. You might compare this to the paintings of Marsden Hartley, who had a similar sensitivity to the expressive qualities of paint. Both artists embrace ambiguity as a space for art to happen.