Gymnopedies 1983

Keith Morrison made this painting, Gymnopedies, on board with what looks like a lot of playful color. It's like he's not just depicting something, but really working through a process, a back-and-forth of color and shape that feels almost musical. The surface has this great texture, a kind of all-over speckled effect that unifies the different zones of color. There's this one area in the blue section, a sort of figure, maybe, with these delicate, almost hesitant marks around its head. It reminds me that painting isn't just about grand gestures, it’s about these small, intimate moments. They build up the image piece by piece. Morrison's painting brings to mind someone like Phillip Guston, in that way it balances figuration and abstraction. It's not about nailing down one specific meaning, but about embracing the ambiguity and letting the painting breathe.