Gertrude III 1958

Balcomb Greene’s “Gertrude III” is a symphony of brushstrokes. The painting's surface seems to have come into being through trial, error, and intuition. I imagine Greene, brush in hand, circling the canvas, maybe even mumbling to himself as he captures Gertrude’s essence in shades of blue, gray, and white. The paint looks like it's applied with a confident hand, thick in some spots, almost translucent in others, so the canvas breathes through. There’s this one gestural mark slashing across what I think is her face – it’s so loaded with feeling, like a question mark hanging in the air. Greene was part of this moment in the art world, where painters were in a constant conversation, responding to each other, pushing boundaries. He makes me think of de Kooning, maybe, and other painters who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. I imagine the conversations they had, the arguments, the laughter, as they all grappled with what it meant to be a painter, and the role painting has in understanding the world.