Crystal ring 1976

Kazuo Shiraga made this painting, Crystal Ring, with oil paint, and I'm just imagining the process, like some kind of physical dance. Shiraga was part of the Gutai group in Japan, who explored new ways of making art, often using their whole bodies. I can picture him here, maybe not with brushes, but with his hands or feet, swirling that paint around and around to form this vortex. There’s a really juicy, yummy sense of flow and movement. It’s a big blue disc, like a portal or a spinning top, contrasted by these dark blue bars. The drips and thin white lines add a kind of lightness, so it’s not so heavy. Artists are always in conversation with each other, trying things out and riffing off of what’s come before. This painting feels so immediate, like a snapshot of an action, but it also invites us to slow down and get lost in its swirling depths. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.