Paysage 1907

Harry Phelan Gibb created this abstract landscape painting with oil paints. Gibb's expressive brushstrokes and vibrant colors show a clear engagement with materiality. The tactile quality of the paint is very evident, as he applied it thickly, building up layers of pigment to create a textured surface. It’s all about the gesture, about mark-making. This materiality becomes part of the artwork's content, as Gibb explores color theory, composition, and perception through the very act of painting. It's important to remember that oil paint, even if an apparently conventional choice of material, is itself a product of industrial chemistry. Gibb wasn't grinding his own pigments – he was part of a larger system of labor, one far removed from the landscapes that he depicted. By focusing on the material and how it's applied, we get a richer sense of Gibb's work, one which isn't just about pretty pictures, but about the complex relationship between art, labor, and the natural world.