Grand Master 1975

Jacob Kainen made this mixed media work on paper called, ‘Grand Master.’ I can imagine Kainen’s hand moving across the surface, layering washes of color and delicate linear marks to create the composition. It’s almost as if he’s thinking aloud. I see floating shapes rendered in graphite with touches of pink, umber, and pale blue. There are also subtle grids suggesting a kind of architecture, or maybe it’s just the structure of thought itself. The paint is thin allowing the under layers to peek through. The texture of the paper adds another dimension to the piece. The longer you look, the more it feels like these forms and shapes are about to shift or change their position. It reminds me a little of Guston, but also Cy Twombly’s graphic sensibility. Painting is an ongoing conversation that artists have across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. Every mark contributes to the feeling that is both ambiguous and strangely familiar.