Pintura 222/60 1960

Joan Hernandez Pijuan made this painting, Pintura 222/60, with bold, gestural marks in a limited palette of blacks, whites, and earthy browns. Imagine the act of painting itself – the artist shifting and adjusting, as the painting emerged through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with Hernandez Pijuan, trying to get it right! What might he have been thinking when he made it? The paint seems kind of thin, and applied in sweeping motions. Look at that white stroke near the upper left – how it curves and bends, communicating movement and energy. It feels so spontaneous, but I wonder how much thought went into it. Hernandez Pijuan’s work shares something with other painters like Franz Kline or Robert Motherwell, who explored similar themes of abstraction and expression. It makes you think of the conversations artists have across time, inspiring one another. Painting is this embodied expression, right? It embraces ambiguity, letting multiple interpretations float to the surface.