St. Germain 1995

Editor: Right, so here we have Albert Irvin’s "St. Germain" from 1995, done with mixed media, including, what looks like, acrylic paint. It's a chaotic explosion of color and bold strokes! I'm kind of overwhelmed by it; what do you see in this piece? Curator: Overwhelmed, are you? Good! That's exactly what Irvin wants. He was a master of controlled chaos, you see. He slaps paint around, but always with a playful precision. Do you feel the energy practically leaping off the canvas? I always imagine Irvin chuckling to himself as he painted. Almost daring the viewer to make sense of it all. Does the title “St. Germain” offer you any entry point, a way in? Editor: Well, St. Germain is a neighborhood in Paris… maybe he's capturing the vibrancy of the city? The energy and hustle? Curator: Precisely! He’s not painting the *look* of Paris, he’s painting the *feel* of Paris, that frenetic, artistic buzz. It's abstract, yes, but rooted in experience, wouldn't you say? Now, look closely at the impasto, the thickness of the paint. Notice how it creates a physical texture, like a relief map of his emotions at the time. A snapshot of a moment in his, and Paris's, history. Editor: I see what you mean about the texture. It’s not just about the colors but the layers and depth too. Curator: It's like peering into Irvin's soul, messy and exuberant as it is. Art isn't always about beauty. It’s often about truth, and this feels brutally honest. A painter showing his feeling for place and being, the soul of St Germain made visceral, physical, almost rude in its joyous intensity. Editor: That's a really interesting way of looking at it! I’d only been considering what colours or brushstrokes were saying to me... Seeing this as the feel of a place, a feeling that goes into every slather of paint... That’s brilliant.