Verticals 1957

Karlo Zvirynsky made this painting, Verticals, with what looks like oil paint and maybe some kind of impasto medium to make it extra thick. You can really see the hand of the artist in the way the paint is applied. The texture of this painting is super interesting. The vertical lines are built up with layers of paint, creating a really tactile surface. I’m drawn to the way the cool blues and grays of the verticals contrast with the warmer, earthier tones of the background. The way the lines are uneven and slightly wonky makes it feel very human and intimate. It’s like looking at a forest of abstract forms. I'm reminded of the work of Antoni Tàpies who also experimented with texture and materiality in his paintings, embracing imperfection and ambiguity as ways to create meaning. It is this idea that art is always a conversation.