TORTURE PRISON 2022

Thomas Riesner made "Torture Prison" with what looks like watercolor, ink, and maybe a touch of pastel – judging from those vivid, unsettling colors. I imagine he was layering these materials, letting them bleed and drip to create a visceral kind of atmosphere. The title makes me think about mark-making as a form of catharsis, an exorcism. The raw, frenzied strokes of black ink forming the figure's frame are especially striking. It’s like Riesner is wrestling with something – an idea, a feeling, an experience. I feel like I’m right there with him, in the thick of it. You see echoes of Francis Bacon in the way Riesner uses color and form to convey extreme states of being. It’s a conversation, a painterly exchange across time and space. But, ultimately, it is a testament to how art can be a conduit for understanding, a way of turning chaos into something that resonates, even if it’s uncomfortable.