Red Wave 2017

David Michael Hinnebusch made this painting, Red Wave, with a tidal pull of red, like the undertow dragging you in, a rip current. Looking at the painting I can feel the artist working intuitively, like the image has emerged from a sea of trial and error. I can imagine the artist asking: How do I make a wave? How do I make it red? The thick impasto paint at the top of the image, with those drips, feels like a wave breaking, about to crash. You can sense the physical effort that went into making this painting, the artist's hand moving across the surface, layering colors and textures. The curves and lines, layered and energetic, feel like a conversation between intention and chance. I wonder if Hinnebusch was thinking about other artists who have explored similar themes of movement and energy in their work. He has his own take on it, though; painting is just one big ongoing exchange of ideas. It's an embodied form of expression that embraces ambiguity and uncertainty. We aren't looking for definitive answers here; more like a feeling...