Fluorescent Life Painting with Screens & Bath II 1968

Gary Wragg made this painting, Fluorescent Life Painting with Screens & Bath II, using bright colours and bold strokes. I imagine him juggling the composition, the vibrant hues shifting and solidifying, maybe not quite landing, but that’s the beauty of painting, right? He’s not afraid of a bit of chaos. The way the planes of color butt up against each other, forming these quirky architectural shapes – it’s like he’s building a world right before our eyes. I can see him there, in his studio, wrestling with the canvas, trying to capture something elusive. Maybe he’s thinking about the push and pull between abstraction and figuration, or maybe he’s just letting the paint do its thing, guided by some inner rhythm. You can see echoes of Matisse in the boldness of the colours, a nod to the masters while still doing his own thing. It’s like we are all talking to each other through our paintings, across time. It’s painting as a conversation, always open, always unfinished.