Medeanus 1955

John Ferren made this painting, Medeanus, with oil on canvas. Look at the way Ferren lets each color breathe and kind of fuzz out at the edges. It feels like he was really thinking about how one color bumps up against another, creating a kind of controlled explosion. I am interested in the interplay of these colors, the yellow and the orange give off a sunny, bright disposition while the blues and greys offer a more solemn tone. There’s something almost geological about the way these shapes layer on top of each other, like sediment in a rock formation. And then you've got that thin white line snaking down the middle - is it holding everything together, or is it a crack that's about to split the whole thing apart? I see a bit of Arshile Gorky here, with that surreal, biomorphic vibe. But Ferren’s got his own thing going on, a kind of joyful chaos that makes you want to jump right in.