Magic Mountain 2016

Albrecht Behmel made this painting called ‘Magic Mountain’ in oil paint, and just look at the colour! I can imagine Albrecht making this, surrounded by jars of paint. It’s a dance of colour. Dabs and daubs of paint, surrounded by black outlines. Like stained glass! The paint isn’t thick, it's laid down economically. There is an area of blue up top that meets a frieze of dark figures, looking out. Maybe they are climbing the mountain, maybe they are guarding it! There are echoes of Fernand Léger here, and the Fauves, but also the cartoons of my childhood. I can see the joy in this painting and the process of making. Artists like Albrecht show us, over and over, that painting is still a relevant way to be in the world. It's a conversation. What a gift!