Mojabe 1966

Norman Bluhm made this painting, ‘Mojabe’, with big swooping marks of creamy, earthy colours. I love the freedom of it, the sense that he’s just going for it! Look at the surface; the paint is thick in places, especially around the edges, giving it a real tactile quality. You can almost feel the energy of his brushstrokes. There's a kind of rawness to it all, as if he's not trying to hide anything. See how the big open space in the middle is framed by these gestural marks? It reminds me of a stage set, or maybe a doorway to somewhere else. Bluhm was part of the Abstract Expressionist movement, so there's definitely a connection to artists like de Kooning, who were also pushing the boundaries of what painting could be. But Bluhm has his own voice, his own way of making something new out of the conversation. It's like he’s saying, "Here's what I feel, take it or leave it." And I, for one, am taking it.