Icelandic Horse with Blonde Mane 1985

Louisa Matthiasdottir's painting of an Icelandic horse presents a world distilled to its most vibrant essentials, probably made with oil on canvas. Look at how she builds the image with these confident, almost chunky strokes, a testament to the sheer joy of applying paint. The materiality of the work, that lovely, thick paint, invites you to touch, to feel. The colors are bold, almost Fauvist, turning the landscape into a dreamscape. Notice the way the green of the field meets the blue of the water, a seam of pure color. It's almost as if the painting itself is breathing. I’m reminded of Milton Avery, in the way Matthiasdottir simplifies forms and intensifies color to create a world that feels both familiar and utterly new. It is this kind of conversation, across time and canvases, that makes art so endlessly compelling.