Torodoro 2004

Dan Christensen made this painting, called 'Torodoro', with acrylic on canvas. Looking at that intense orange background, I can imagine him layering it on, and then maybe coming back with those lines of red, white, green, yellow, and blue, making loops and squiggles, letting the paint drip here and there. There’s this dance between control and chance – that's what painting's all about, isn't it? I can imagine Christensen thinking about Helen Frankenthaler or Larry Poons, but doing his own thing, pushing the line, literally. See how that white line just zips across? That's like a shot of energy. What was he thinking? Was he angry? Or just feeling alive, wanting to see what paint can do? Artists talk to each other across time and space. We riff on each other's ideas, steal a little, add our own spin, and keep the conversation going. It's a beautiful, messy, ongoing process.