Capturestheheartland 1991

Stanley Boxer made this painting, "Capturestheheartland", with what looks like very thick paint, maybe even some kind of impasto medium mixed in there. It's like he's building up a landscape out of pure texture. The big, warm central area is this craggy, almost geological form, surrounded by these vibrant fringes of orange, blue, and green. I'm drawn to those little white drips at the top, like tiny waterfalls or maybe just the painting itself weeping. There's something so physical about the way he applies the paint. You can almost feel the weight and drag of the brush. It reminds me a bit of Joan Mitchell, in the way she uses color and gesture to create a feeling of intense, almost overwhelming emotion. But Boxer has his own thing going on, this real sense of earthiness and materiality. It's like he's not just painting a picture, but making a thing, an object that exists in the world.